Ballon d'Or 2023 winners, rankings, final awards results as Lionel Messi wins eighth trophy alongside Aitana Bonmati

Kyle Bonn

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Dom Farrell

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Joe Wright

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Ballon d'Or 2023 winners, rankings, final awards results as Lionel Messi wins eighth trophy alongside Aitana Bonmati image

The most prestigious individual prizes in men's and women's football was awarded on Monday, October 30.

The 2023 Ballon d'Or and Ballon d'Or Feminin were presented at a star-studded ceremony in Paris, hosted by former Chelsea striker Didier Drogba.

Lionel Messi, the favourite to win the men's award for a record-extending eighth time, was officially crowned as the trophy winner, as Spanish star Aitana Bonmati was awarded the women's trophy.

While officially awarded as a PSG player for his accomplishments across the 2022/23 season, Inter Miami forward Messi becomes the first player in history to win the Ballon d'Or while playing for a team in MLS, as he moved to South Florida in the summer.

WATCH BALLON D'OR 2023 AWARDS: STREAM LIVE FOR FREE ON PARAMOUNT+

Bonmati, fresh off the 2023 Women's World Cup title, was crowned the female winner, following in the footsteps of Barcelona teammate Alexia Putellas who won the previous two. Injury problems have left Putellas out of the running for the 2023 prize, while a whopping six Barcelona players were nominated for this year's award.

The Sporting News provided live updates throughout the day, bringing you the final results and reaction from the Theatre du Chatelet across the hours-long ceremony.

MORE: The Sporting News makes early predictions for who will win the 2024 Ballon d'Or award

Ballon d'Or 2023 live updates of final results from trophy ceremony

Final Men's Ballon d'Or rankings

Rank Player Nationality Club
WINNER Lionel Messi Argentina PSG
2. Erling Haaland Norway Man City
3. Kylian Mbappe France PSG
4. Kevin de Bruyne Belgium Man City
5. Rodri Spain Man City
6. Vinicius Jr Brazil Real Madrid
7. Julian Alvarez Argentina Man City
8.  Victor Osimhen Nigeria Napoli
9.  Bernardo Silva Portugal Man City
10. Luka Modric Croatia Real Madrid
11. Mohamed Salah Egypt Liverpool
12. Robert Lewandowski Poland Barcelona
13. Yassine Bounou Morocco Sevilla
14. Ilkay Gundogan Germany Man City/Barcelona
15. Emiliano Martinez Argentina Aston Villa
16. Karim Benzema France Real Madrid
17. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia Georgia Napoli
18. Jude Bellingham England Borussia Dortmund/Real Madrid
19. Harry Kane England Tottenham/Bayern Munich
20. Lautaro Martinez Argentina Inter Milan
21. Antoine Griezmann France Atletico Madrid
22. Kim Min-Jae South Korea Napoli/Bayern Munich
23. Andre Onana Cameroon Man United
24. Bukayo Saka England Arsenal
25. Josko Gvardiol Croatia RB Leipzig/Man City
26. Jamal Musiala Germany Bayern Munich
27. Nicolo Barella Italy Inter Milan
T-28. Randal Kolo Muani France Eintracht Frankfurt/PSG
T-28. Martin Odegaard Norway Arsenal
30. Ruben Dias Portugal Man City

Other Men's awards:

Kopa Trophy: Jude Bellingham (England / Borussia Dortmund)

Socrates Award: Vinicius Jr. (Brazil / Real Madrid)

Yashin Award: Emiliano Martinez (Argentina / Aston Villa)

Gerd Muller trophy: Erling Haaland (Norway / Man City)

Club of the Year: Manchester City (England / Premier League)

Final Women's Ballon d'Or Top 10 rankings

Rank Player Nationality Club
WINNER Aitana Bonmati Spain Barcelona
2.  Sam Kerr Australia Chelsea
3.  Salma Paralluelo Spain Barcelona
4.  Fridolina Rolfo Sweden Barcelona
5.  Mary Earps England Man City
6.  Olga Carmona Spain Real Madrid
7.  Alexandra Popp Germany VfL Wolfsburg
8.  Patri Guijarro Spain Barcelona
9.  Linda Caicedo Colombia Real Madrid
10. Rachel Daly England Aston Villa

Other Women's awards:

Club of the Year: Barcelona (Spain / Primera Division Femenino)

Live updates of Ballon d'Or trophy ceremony, commentary, video

9:35 p.m. ET / 5:35 p.m. ET: Lionel Messi gives his winners speech, giving a nod to his family and teammates with Argentina, while also wishing the late Diego Maradona a happy birthday.

9:30 p.m. ET / 5:30 p.m. ET: They will now present the winner of the 2023 Ballon d'or, and the winner is...

LIONEL MESSI! A record eighth trophy for the Argentine legend is confirmed, and likely the last he will win. Messi is unlikely to win the Ballon d'Or so long as he plays for Inter Miami, so this could be his final triumph.

Soak it in! Messi has extended his own personal record. Nobody else has more than the five won by Cristiano Ronaldo.

9:26 p.m. ET / 5:26 p.m. ET: England legend David Beckham, the current Inter Miami owner, has come out onto the stage as the presenter of the men's Ballon d'Or! I think we all know what that means...

9:15 p.m. ET / 5:15 p.m. ET: They reveal the top five finishers in the women's Ballon d'Or, with Australian star Sam Kerr finishing second, ahead of Salma Paralluelo, Fridolina Rolfo, and Mary Earps.

Barcelona, who won Club of the Year, secure finishers in first, third, fourth, and eighth. What a loaded squad the Champions League winners have!

9:02 p.m. ET / 5:02 p.m. ET: It's time to award the women's Ballon d'Or winner! Tennis superstar Novak Djokovic is brought out to hand out the trophy. A bit awkward considering they could have, you know, found a female athlete to present the honour.

The winner is...Aitana Bonmati of Barcelona! No surprise here, as she was a leader in winning both the Champions League and Women's World Cup. She uses her moment at the podium to speak on how there has been progress in the women's game, but that there must be further strides taken. Well said, as she speaks eloquently in both Spanish and English.

9:00 p.m. ET / 5:00 p.m. ET: The next three men's Ballon d'Or finishers are announced, as Julian Alvarez, Vinicius Jr, and Rodri are revealed as the next ones up. A great nod for Rodri as the fifth-placed finisher, as he was arguably Man City's most pivotal player in their treble-winning season.

8:56 p.m. ET / 4:56 p.m. ET: The next three finishers in the women's Ballon d'Or voting are revealed, as England goalkeeper Mary Earps finishes fifth, ahead of Olga Carmona and Alexandra Popp.

Then there's a musical performance by Nigerian recording artist Rema, who does a live performance of his biggest hit song Calm Down. The crowd loves it, and it's a bop, in all fairness.

8:51 p.m. ET / 4:51 p.m. ET: Manchester City are crowned Club of the Year for the second season in a row!

8:49 p.m. ET / 4:49 p.m. ET: The Ballon d'Or panel challenges Erling Haaland to do either Didier Drogba's or Gary Lineker's celebration next time he scores a goal. Erling leaves them hanging, and says "we'll see next time I score." A cliffhanger!

8:37 p.m. ET / 4:37 p.m. ET: Gary Lineker comes out to award the Gerd Muller Trophy, which is awarded to the best striker in the world across the season. The award goes to Erling Haaland of Manchester City, who was Europe's top scorer last season and set a Premier League record for most goals in a season!

It could potentially be nothing more than a consolation prize for the much more coveted Ballon d'Or trophy, as reports claim Haaland will come up just short in the overall voting.

The ceremony plays each of Haaland's 56 goals last season on the screen, which is a neat touch. Haaland can't help but crack a big smile while he watches, even if he knows it's not the trophy or the moment he truly wants. The bicycle kick against Southampton gets the biggest grin from the winner.

8:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. ET: It's time for the Yashin Award to be handed out, as the best goalkeeper in the world is selected. Emiliano Martinez of Argentina is selected! Yassine Bounou finished above Dibu in the overall Ballon d'Or standings, but it's the World Cup winner who is picked for the goalkeeper-specific trophy.

Alberton Martinez, Dibu's father, joins his son on stage for the happy moment. There are boos from the largely French crowd for Martinez, whose big moments helped defeat the French national team in the World Cup final. Didier Drogba, a Frenchman, asks for respect to Martinez's sporting accomplishments, which draws an applause.

8:13 p.m. ET / 4:13 p.m. ET: They've unveiled the start to the Top 10 of the women's Ballon d'Or rankings, with Rachel Daly, Linda Caicedo, and Patri Guijarro all nominated! Caicedo is just 18 years old, a star in the making.

They've then gone to award Barcelona as the female Club of the Year, as Champions League and Spanish domestic title winners. Barcelona have an incredible six players nominated for the women's Ballon d'Or, including the likely winner Aitana Bonmati.

8:10 p.m. ET / 4:10 p.m. ET: It's quite the In Memoriam this year. First is a tribute to Sir Bobby Charlton who passed away recently, one of the legends of the English, and by proxy the global, game of football. Then a tribute to the legendary Pele, who also passed just before the turn to 2023. Two absolute titans of football who were lost this past year.

They also recognise Luis Suarez Miramontes, the former Spanish football player and manager who was the first Spanish player to win the Ballon d'Or in 1960. He passed away back in early July at the age of 88.

8:07 p.m. ET / 4:07 p.m. ET: They're unveiling the winner of the Socrates Award for humanitarian work by a footballer. It's named for the former Brazilian icon and was first awarded last year. The winner is Real Madrid star Vinicius Jr, who is honored for his work in educating under-privelidged children in Brazil, as well as his outspoken work amidst repeated racial abuse with both club and country. He follows last year's winner Sadio Mane, who earned the first-ever Socrates Award.

8:05 p.m. GMT / 4:05 p.m. ET: They've revealed the next three finishers in the Ballon d'Or voting, with Victor Osimhen, Bernardo Silva, and Luka Modric all making the top 10!

8:03 p.m. GMT / 4:03 p.m. ET: They're diving right into the awards, with Jude Bellingham winning the Kopa Trophy as the best young player in Europe! Bellingham gets a great video message from Jamal Musiala, a former England youth international who Bellingham roomed with a number of years ago. Bellingham calls Musiala, who finished second in the voting, "one of my best mates in football."

8:00 p.m. GMT / 4:00 p.m. ET: The ceremony has begun! Didier Drogba is hosting alongside TV personality Sandy Heribert.

7:45 p.m. GMT / 3:45 p.m. ET: Lionel Messi, the record Ballon d'Or holder and presumed winner, has arrived in his old home of Paris! Messi has been critical of the fans during his time in the French capital, but he could have a memorable moment there tonight.

7:30 p.m. GMT / 3:30 p.m. ET: The Barcelona women have arrived at the Ballon d'Or ceremony. The Catalan club boasts a host of possible winners, chief amongst them Aitana Bonmati. Two-time winner Alexia Putellas, also part of the Barcelona group, took a back seat to Bonmati in Spain's 2023 Women's World Cup run and thus the latter is likely to win.

Barcelona have a whopping four other nominees for the award, including Salma Paralluelo.

7:15 p.m. GMT / 3:15 p.m. ET: While Lionel Messi is not likely to win the Ballon d'Or after this year while he plays for Inter Miami, his new club has made the trip to Paris for the ceremony nonetheless. David Beckham is in attendance for the award reveal. MLS wouldn't miss out on this wonderful marketing opportunity!

7:00 p.m. GMT / 3:00 p.m. ET: Newly-retired Eden Hazard is at the Ballon d'Or ceremony to take in the festivities. He says life away from football is "perfect" and lets him "do what he wants." He says that he's only there tonight becuase his kids asked him to go to the Ballon d'Or ceremony, which is kind of hilarious. Glad he's happy!

6:45 p.m. GMT / 2:45 p.m. ET: With only the top 10 left to go, we know who will be involved by process of elimination. That tells us a few things. Napoli striker Victor Osimhen will be the highest-rated African player as the only one left to be announced, while Luka Modric will be amongst the group which some might consider a surprise given his decline at Real Madrid.

Other players still to be given a place include Kylian Mbappe, Rodri, Julian Alvarez, Vinicius Jr, Bernardo Silva, and Kevin de Bruyne. And of course, the expected top two in Lionel Messi and Erling Haaland.

6:30 p.m. GMT / 2:30 p.m. ET: Liverpool star Mohamed Salah, who flirted heavily with a move to Saudi Arabia, is ranked 11th in the Ballon d'Or list. His accomplishments last season were overshadowed a bit by Erling Haaland's brilliance and Harry Kane's swansong, but his 30 goals and 16 assists were essential to carry Liverpool through an otherwise disappointing season.

6:15 p.m. GMT / 2:15 p.m. ET: With only the Top 10 to go, rankings have slowed a bit, but the ceremony appears to be getting under way. Djibril Cisse opens the red carpet in Paris!

6:00 p.m. GMT / 2:00 p.m. ET: Here's an interesting one. World Cup Golden Glove winner and schwing extraordinaire, Dibu Martinez, rounds out the top 15, while Yassine Bounou — who very pointedly did not win the World Cup Golden Glove, comes in at 13th. That's certainly a choice, as it's highly likely Dibu will win the Yashin Award as the best goalkeeper in the world.

Meanwhile, Ilkay Gundogan at 14th place is laughable — he should be much higher as a key trigger man for Man City's treble. The Germany disappointment at the World Cup probably hurts him, but even Real Madrid accounts are praising his accomplishments!

5:45 p.m. GMT / 1:45 p.m. ET: Karim Benzema appears at 16th, as we get closer to revealing the top 10.

5:30 p.m. GMT/1:30 p.m. ET: Some big names have been added to the list, including Harry Kane and Lautaro Martinez, while the current favourite for next year's award, Jude Bellingham, is also on the recently announced rankings.

5:15 p.m. GMT/1:15 p.m. ET: Antoine Griezmann is the next player up on the rankings, rounding out the first 10 players released. We're a third of the way to the top prize!

5:00 p.m. GMT/1:00 p.m. ET: The rankings are slowly being released as the countdown begins to the eventual award.

Couple of interesting notes. Awesome to see Bukayo Saka on the list, but he's far too low, like his teammate Martin Odegaard. Josko Gvardiol being ranked over Ruben Dias, who starts over him at Man City, is legitimate malpractice. The weight the World Cup carries, even given its god-like place amongst the football pantheon, is too much over club performances.

4:45 p.m. GMT/12:45 p.m. ET: The Ballon d'Or social media account has begun releasing the rankings for the final award, starting at the bottom of the 30 finalists. They are beginning to list each player's finishing rank, although the amount of points received have not yet been announced.

Jamal Musiala finished 26th, but I think we all expect him to rise up that list as the years progress. The German youngster is just 20 years old and has shown immense talent early in his career at both Bayern Munich and the German national team.

Martin Odegaard's contributions to Arsenal last season feel deserving of a higher place than tied for 28th. Same too for Ruben Dias who won the treble with Man City — it's clear how much goalscoring contributions are valued in the modern game over defensive capabilities, which is a shame.

4:30 p.m. GMT/12:30 p.m. ET: Tonight might end up being one of the closest Ballon d'Or votes on record. To date, the tightest vote in Ballon d'Or history was in 1966, when Bobby Charlton edged it by a single point over Eusebio, of the 315 points which were awarded, a record which cannot be broken but can be equaled. The inaugural award in 1956 saw Stanley Matthews beat Alfredo Di Stefano by just three points of the 243 total, while 1969 saw Gianni Rivera win by four points and 1972 saw Franz Beckenbauer beat Gerd Muller and Gunter Netzer by two points.

Lionel Messi has already won the biggest landslide in Ballon d'Or history back in 2009, will he put himself amongst the most narrow-margin winners too?

3:30 p.m. GMT/11:30 a.m. ET: If De Bruyne does make it onto the podium, it would match the third place he claimed in 2022. Last year's winner Karim Benzema and the runner up Sadio Mane are both not in contention, with the latter not making it onto the 30-player shortlist after a nightmare year at Bayern Munich preceded a move to Saudi Arabia.

2:30 p.m. GMT/10:30 a.m. ET: If the penalty shootout in Qatar had panned out differently, Kylian Mbappe would be a back-to-back world champion after scoring a hat-trick in the World Cup final. It would surely have made him a front-runner for this award. As things stand, he might not even get on the podium tonight. Goal in France is reporting that one of Manchester City duo Kevin De Bruyne or Rodri could edge him out of third place.

Kylian Mbappe
(Getty Images)

1:30 p.m. GMT/9:30 a.m. ET: The Ballon d'Or Feminin is expected to remain in Spanish possession. Alexia Putellas won the previous two but has been dogged by injury problems over the past year. Putellas being short of her best and well-documented turbulence off-field made Spain's triumph in the 2023 Women's World Cup all the more impressive. That run put Barcelona midfielder Aitana Bonmati in pole position for the big individual prize.

Aitana Bonmati with the Golden Ball trophy and Mary Earps with the Golden Glove award at the 2023 Women's World Cup
Getty Images

12:45 p.m. GMT/8:45 a.m. ET: Erling Haaland is expected to be Messi's main challenger for glory tonight. He certainly compiled a heavy argument through sheer weight of numbers in his debut season at Manchester City. Winning a treble when scoring 52 goals in 53 appearances would amount to an open and shut case against most mortals. Even if he doesn't win the big prize tonight, Haaland is motoring towards a Ballon d'Or at some point and moved onto 13 goals this season with a brace in City's 3-0 Manchester derby win over the weekend.

Erling Haaland
Getty Images

 MORE: Man United vs Man City final score, result as Haaland and Foden pile pressure on Ten Hag

12:00 p.m. GMT/8:00 a.m. ET: Tonight's ceremony will take place in the opulent surroundings of Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, with everything getting underway at 8:45 p.m. CET. The winners are likely to be announced a shade over an hour after that. Prior to that, the rankings of the men's and women's players outside of the podium places will take place at 5:15 p.m. CET.

11:15 a.m. GMT/7:15 a.m. ET: Lionel Messi is the favourite to collect his eighth Ballon d'Or after his World Cup heroics for Argentina. This is central to the case for Messi because the voting period for the 2023 Ballon d'Or was the 2022/23 European season. So, if he gets over the line ahead of Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe, it won't be on account of any of those Inter Miami bangers we've enjoyed these past months.

getty images

10:30 a.m. GMT/6:30 a.m. ET: Welcome to The Sporting News' coverage of Ballon d'Or day 2023! Who will lift the trophy in Paris this evening? Stay with us to find out.

What time does the 2023 Ballon d'Or ceremony start?

The red carpet arrivals at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris start at 7 p.m. local time, with the ceremony scheduled to start at 8.30 p.m. and finish by 10.30 p.m. All times are estimated by event organisers.

Here's how that arrivals time translates across some of the major territories:

  Date Kickoff time
USA Mon Oct. 30 2:00 p.m. ET
Canada Mon Oct. 30 2:00 p.m. ET
UK Mon Oct. 30 6:00 p.m. GMT
Australia Tue Oct. 31 5:00 a.m. AEDT
India Sun Sep. 24 11:30 p.m. IST
Hong Kong Tue Oct. 31 2:00 a.m. HKT
Malaysia Tue Oct. 31 2:00 a.m. MYT
Singapore Tue Oct. 31 2:00 a.m. SGT
New Zealand Tue Oct. 31 7:00 a.m. NZDT

MORE: How Messi's Ballon d'Or wins compare to MVPs in NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL

Where to watch Ballon d'Or 2023 live stream, TV channel

The 2023 Ballon d'Or is a streamable event, with the familiar face of Chelsea legend Didier Drogba presenting.

Fans in the United States can stream the Ballon d'Or ceremony live this Monday, 10/30 at 2:30PM ET on Paramount+. Try it FREE!

Region TV Streaming
USA — Paramount+
Canada —

Paramount+
UK — BBC Red Button, TNT Sports 2, Discovery+
Australia — SBS On Demand
India Sony TEN 2 Sony LIV, JioTV
Hong Kong — L'Equipe — YouTube
Malaysia — L'Equipe — YouTube
Singapore — L'Equipe — YouTube
New Zealand — L'Equipe — YouTube

Kyle Bonn

Kyle Bonn Photo

Kyle Bonn, is a Syracuse University broadcast journalism graduate with over a decade of experience covering soccer globally. Kyle specializes in soccer tactics and betting, with a degree in data analytics. Kyle also does TV broadcasts for Wake Forest soccer, and has had previous stops with NBC Soccer and IMG College. When not covering the game, he has long enjoyed loyalty to the New York Giants, Yankees, and Fulham. Kyle enjoys playing racquetball and video games when not watching or covering sports.

Dom Farrell

Dom Farrell Photo

Dom is the senior content producer for Sporting News UK. He previously worked as fan brands editor for Manchester City at Reach Plc. Prior to that, he built more than a decade of experience in the sports journalism industry, primarily for the Stats Perform and Press Association news agencies. Dom has covered major football events on location, including the entirety of Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup in Paris and St Petersburg respectively, along with numerous high-profile Premier League, Champions League and England international matches. Cricket and boxing are his other major sporting passions and he has covered the likes of Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury, Wladimir Klitschko, Gennadiy Golovkin and Vasyl Lomachenko live from ringside.

Joe Wright

Joe Wright Photo

Joe is a Senior Editor at Sporting News. He was previously a sub editor and writer for Goal.com before spending six years as part of the Stats Perform editorial news service, covering major global sports including football, tennis, boxing, NBA, rugby union and athletics. Joe has reported live on some of the biggest games in football, including two UEFA Champions League finals, Euro 2016, the Confederations Cup 2017 and the 2018 World Cup final at the end of a month in Russia.