Lionel Messi and Aitana Bonmati claim top prizes at 2023 Ballon d’Or

Lionel Messi and Aitana Bonmati have won the 2023 Ballon d’Or awards.

Messi, 36, captained Argentina to a 2022 World Cup triumph and won the 2022-23 Ligue 1 title with Paris Saint-Germain, securing his record-extending eighth Ballon d’Or at the ceremony in Paris on Monday.

Bonmati, 25, had an outstanding year for club and country, winning the 2022-23 Liga F and Champions League with Barcelona and the 2023 World Cup with Spain.

Manchester City’s Erling Haaland finished second and PSG’s Kylian Mbappe finished third in the men’s voting, while Sam Kerr and Salma Paralluelo came second and third respectively in the women’s award.

• Follow live coverage of today’s 2023 Ballon d’Or awards ceremony

Messi, who joined Inter Miami this summer from Paris Saint-Germain, had already won the men’s top individual prize in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019 and 2021. The former Barcelona man has been honoured again after claiming a previously elusive World Cup last winter, in which he won the Golden Ball — awarded to the tournament’s best player — after scoring seven goals in seven games. Messi stretches further clear of Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, who has won five Ballons d’Or but did not make the shortlist this year for the first time since 2003.

Messi also became the first active Major League Soccer player to be nominated for the Ballon d’Or since Inter Miami owner David Beckham, who made the shortlist in 2007, three months after joining LA Galaxy from Real Madrid.

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Bonmati also won the Golden Ball award at the World Cup earlier this year, as well as the UEFA Women’s player of the year and Champions League player of the season awards for last season.

During the 2022-23 campaign, the midfielder scored 19 goals in 37 matches across all competitions for Barcelona as they won their fourth Liga F title in a row and secured a second Champions League triumph. She also netted three times at the World Cup.

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Jude Bellingham, meanwhile, won the Kopa Trophy — the award for the best under-21 player. Bellingham excelled during the 2022-23 season for Bundesliga runners-up Borussia Dortmund and England, earning a move to Real Madrid over the summer.

Emiliano Martinez won the Yashine Trophy, given to the best goalkeeper of the season. The Aston Villa stopper won the Golden Glove as Argentina won the World Cup last year.

Though he finished runner-up behind Messi for the main award, Haaland did claim the Gerd Muller award for his 56 goals for Manchester City in 2022-23. Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior won the Socrates award for his humanitarian work.

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Ballon d’Or top 25s

Men

1. Lionel Messi (Barcelona & Argentina)
2. Erling Haaland (Manchester City & Norway)
3. Kylian Mbappe (PSG & France)
4. Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City & Belgium)
5. Rodri (Manchester City & Spain)
6. Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid & Brazil)
7. Julian Alvarez (Manchester City & Argentina)
8. Victor Osimhen (Napoli & Nigeria)
9. Bernardo Silva (Manchester City & Portugal)
10. Luka Modric (Real Madrid & Croatia)
11. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool & Egypt)
12. Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona & Poland)
13. Yassine Bounou (Sevilla, Al Hilal & Morocco)
14. Ilkay Gundogan (Manchester City, Barcelona & Germany)
15. Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa & Argentina)
16. Karim Benzema (Real Madrid, Al Ittihad & France)
17. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Napoli & Georgia)
18. Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund, Real Madrid & England)
19. Harry Kane (Spurs, Bayern Munich & England)
20. Lautaro Martinez (Inter & Argentina)
21. Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid & France)
22. Kim Min-jae (Napoli, Bayern Munich & South Korea)
23. Andre Onana (Inter, Manchester United & Cameroon)
24. Bukayo Saka (Arsenal & England)
25. Josko Gvardiol (RB Leipzig, Manchester City & Croatia)

Jude Bellingham won the Kopa Trophy and finished 18th in the men’s Ballon d’Or rankings (Photo: Diego Souto/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images)

Women

1. Aitana Bonmati (Barcelona & Spain)
2. Sam Kerr (Chelsea & Australia)
3. Salma Paralluelo (Barcelona & Spain)
4. Fridolina Rolfo (Barcelona & Sweden)
5. Mary Earps (Manchester United & England)
6. Olga Carmona (Real Madrid & Spain)
7. Alexandra Popp (Wolfsburg & Germany)
8. Patricia Guijarro (Barcelona & Spain)
9. Linda Caicedo (Real Madrid & Colombia)
10. Rachel Daly (Aston Villa & England)
11. Millie Bright (Chelsea & England)
12. Hinata Miyazawa (Manchester United, MyNavi Sendai & Japan)
13. Lena Oberdorf (Wolfsburg & Germany)
14. Kadidiatou Diani (PSG & Lyon, France)
15. Amanda Ilestedt (Arsenal, PSG & Sweden)
16. Mapi Leon (Barcelona & Spain)
17. Hayley Raso (Real Madrid, Manchester City & Australia)
18. Ewa Pajor (Wolfsburg & Poland)
19. Guro Reiten (Chelsea & Norway)
20. Asisat Oshoala (Barcelona & Nigeria)
21. Alba Redondo (Levante & Spain)
22. Katie McCabe (Arsenal & Republic of Ireland
23. Georgia Stanway (Bayern Munich & England)
24. Khadija Shaw (Manchester City & Jamaica)
25. Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns & U.S.)

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Who won the 2022 Ballon d’Or?

Karim Benzema, then of Real Madrid, won the men’s award last year, finishing ahead of Sadio Mane, then of Bayern Munich, and Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne.

Barcelona’s Alexia Putellas won the women’s award, with Arsenal’s Beth Mead in second and Chelsea’s Sam Kerr in third.

(Photos: Getty Images)