Osimhen Makes 2023 Ballon d’Or List, Ronaldo Misses Out

Nigeria’s Victor Osimhen has been listed among contenders for the 2023 Ballon d’or award.

The big Napoli striker was listed alongside Lionel Messi, Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne, Kylian Mbappe, amongst others, after guiding Napoli to their first Serie A title in 30 years.

Surprisingly, Cristiano Ronaldo was omitted from the list for the first time in almost two decades.

Messi, who recently joined Inter Miami, is in line to win the Ballon d’Or for the eighth time in his remarkable career after leading Argentina to World Cup glory in Qatar last year.

Full list of 2023 Ballon d’or nominees

André Onana – Manchester United/Cameroon
Josko Gvardiol – Manchester City/Croatia
Karim Benzema – Al Ittihad
Jamal Musiala – Bayern Munich/Germany
Mohamed Salah – Liverpool/Egypt
Jude Bellingham – Real Madrid/England
Bukayo Saka – Arsenal/England
Randal Kolo Muani – Paris Saint-Germain/France
Kevin De Bruyne – Manchester City/Belgium
Bernardo Silva – Manchester City/Portugal
Emiliano Martínez – Aston Villa/Argentina
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia – Napoli/Georgia
Rúben Dias – Manchester City/Portugal
Nicolo Barella – Inter Milan/Italy
Erling Haaland – Manchester City/Norway
Yassine Bounou – Al Hilal/Morocco
Martin Ødegaard – Arsenal/Norway
Julián Álvarez – Manchester City/Argentina
Ilkay Gündogan – Barcelona/Germany
Vinícius Júnior – Real Madrid/Brazil
Lionel Messi – Inter Miami/Argentina
Rodri – Manchester City/Spain
Lautaro Martínez – Inter Milan/Argentina
Antoine Griezmann – Atletico Madrid/France
Robert Lewandowski – Barcelona/Poland
Kylian Mbappé – Paris Saint-Germain/France
Kim Min-Jae – Napoli/South Korea
Victor Osimhen – Napoli/Nigeria
Luka Modric – Real Madrid/Croatia
Harry Kane – Bayern Munich/England

Karim Benzema is the the current holder of football’s most coveted individual honor.