Ballon d’Or 2023: Bellingham, Vinicius and Modrić among the 30 candidates

The prestigious Ballon d’Or award, which recognizes the best player in the world based on their performances in the 2022/23 season, has announced its 30 nominees on Wednesday. The winner will be revealed on October 30 at a ceremony in Paris, where a panel of international journalists will cast their votes.

Among the candidates are some of the most prominent names in football.

Modrić, who won the award in 2018, is one of the nominees. The Croatian had a stellar season with Real Madrid and Croatia. He also captained his national team to a third-place finish at the World Cup in Qatar.

Real Madrid have two more players on the list: Vinicius Jr. and Jude Bellingham. Vinicius Jr. had his second consecutive great season with the Spanish giants. The Brazilian winger was instrumental in helping his team win three trophies: the Club World Cup, the UEFA Super Cup and the Copa del Rey. Bellingham, who joined Real Madrid from Borussia Dortmund during the season, was voted the best player in the Bundesliga. The young English midfielder has began his Real Madrid career with a bang: Five goals in four games.

Here are the full list of 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/ArgentinaI

lkay 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