The much anticipated 2023 Ballon d’Or, will begin any moment from now in Paris, France and it’s billed to hold at the Theatre du Chatelet.
The award ceremony will begin by 6pm Nigerian time and it will be live streamed on France Football’s official website.
There are three strong contenders – Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi, Manchester City’s Erling Haaland and Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappe for this year’s Ballon d’Or.
Messi won the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup last year and also the Best Player award for the tournament. He also won the French Ligue title with PSG before leaving the club to join Inter Miami in the summer.
Haaland, meanwhile, won the Champions League, FA Cup and the Premier League title with Man City. He also scored a record 52 goals in all competitions last season.
Mbappe, on his part, led France to a second finish at the World Cup after they lost to Argentina in the final. He won the Golden Boot for the top scorer in the competition and also won the French Ligue 1 title with PSG.
Other contenders are André Onana, Josko Gvardiol, Karim Benzema, Jamal Musiala, Mohamed Salah, Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka, Randal Kolo Muani, Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Emiliano Martínez and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
The remaining includes Rúben Dias, Nicolo Barella, Yassine Bounou, Martin Ødegaard, Julián Álvarez, Ilkay Gündogan, Vinícius Júnior, Rodri, Lautaro Martínez, Antoine Griezmann, Robert Lewandowski, Kylian Mbappé, Kim Min-jae, Victor Osimhen, Luka Modric and Harry Kane.
However, there are strong indications that Lionel Messi is the favourite to win his eighth title tonight in France.