Ballon D’Or 2023 Prediction, Betting Tips & Odds

We’re well into the 2022/23 season now and there are several betting markets open for ante-post bets. Many of us will be looking at the latest odds and contenders to win the major European leagues, the winner of the 2023 UEFA Champions League and possibly even further ahead to Euro 2024. However, one market which has gained some traction since the conclusion of the 2022 World Cup is the 2023 Ballon D’Or winner.

What is the Ballon D’Or?

The Ballon d’Or is one of the most prestigious awards in football, recognizing the best male player in the world each year. The award has been presented annually by France Football since 1956 and has been the benchmark for individual excellence in the sport for over 60 years.

The Ballon d’Or was first awarded in 1956 and was originally intended to recognize the best European player of the year. The award was created by France Football, a French weekly magazine that has been covering football since its inception in the 1930s. The award was initially only open to European players but was later expanded to include players from all over the world.

The Ballon d’Or is voted on by a panel of international journalists, with each journalist casting a vote for their top three players from a shortlist of around 30. The player who receives the most votes is awarded the Ballon d’Or.

From 2010 to 2015, the Ballon d’Or merged with the FIFA World Player of the Year award, which was also awarded to the best male player in the world. This meant that the winner of the Ballon d’Or was also named the FIFA World Player of the Year. However, in 2016, the two awards were separated again, and the Ballon d’Or was once again awarded to the best player in the world as voted on by international journalists.

The award has become a major source of debate, discussion and analysis among fans, experts, and the media. Every year, the shortlist and eventual winner generates heated debate and conversation about who deserves the award and why. As such, betting on the Ballon d’Or winner has become extremely popular and punters can place their bets as early as a couple of months into the season all the way up to the awards ceremony in October.

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Ballon D’Or Winners

Since its inception in 1956, the Ballon d’Or has been won by some of the greatest football players of all time. Some of the most notable winners include:

• Lionel Messi: The Argentine forward has won the Ballon d’Or a record 7 times, more than any other player in history. He won the award in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019 and 2021.
• Cristiano Ronaldo: The Portuguese star has won the Ballon d’Or 5 times, coming in second to Messi. He won the award in 2008, 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017.
• Michel Platini: The French midfielder won the award three times in a row, in 1983, 1984, and 1985.
• Johan Cruyff: The Dutch forward won the award three times in the 1970s, in 1971, 1973, and 1974.
• Marco van Basten: Like his fellow Dutchman, van Basten has won the Ballon d’Or three times, in 1988, 1989 and 1992.
• George Best: The Northern Irish forward won the award in 1968.
• George Weah: The Liberian forward won the award in 1995.
• Luka Modric: The Croatian midfielder won the Ballon d’Or in 2018, ending the decade-long domination of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Ballon D’Or 2023 Odds

Odds for Ballon d’Or 2023 contenders can be found below. The odds will fluctuate throughout the season based on player performances and achievements.

Ballon d’Or 2023 Odds
Lionel Messi	2/7
Kylian Mbappe	7/2
Erling Haaland	11/1
Robert Lewandowski	22/1
Kevin De Bruyne	28/1
Mohamed Salah	28/1
Karim Benzema	28/1
Harry Kane	33/1
Neymar	33/1
Vinicius Junior	40/1
Odds correct as of 26/01/2023

Ballon D’Or 2023 Contenders

With the 2022 World Cup ending last month, online bookies have started to open their Ballon D’Or 2023 betting markets with a few having odds available for this year’s contenders.

Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema picked up the award last year following an impressive season for his club having lead them to Champions League glory as well as the La Liga title, the Uefa Super Cup and the Spanish Super Cup.

For many years, the Ballon D’Or was based on player performances throughout the calendar year. However, that changed last year when it was decided that performances would be taken into consideration from the start until the end of each season. That has resulted in a significant impact given that the 2022 World Cup took place in the British wintertime and so players who had a good tournament may gain some advantage from the new format.

Lionel Messi

One player who stands to gain from the new format is Lionel Messi who won the World Cup with Argentina in December for the first time. He picked up the Golden Ball award, making history as the first player ever to win it twice.

Messi has won the Ballon D’Or more times than any other player in history and if the bookies’ odds are anything to go by, is set to extend that record to eight.

Winning the World Cup along with the Golden Boot has put Lionel Messi in pole position to collect this year’s Ballon D’Or. It will likely be one of his last chances to add to his tally with the PSG star turning 36 this year and he’d like nothing more than to add to his trophy cabinet come October.

Kylian Mbappe

Kylian Mbappe is the bookies’ second favourite for the 2023 Ballon D’Or and it’s wouldn’t be out of the question for him to pip his PSG teammate as the voters choice.

Like Messi, Mbappe had an impressive 2022 World Cup campaign. He finished the tournament as the top scorer with eight goals and scored a hattrick in the final followed by another in the penalty shootout. If things had gone the other way from the spot kicks for France in that game, it’s likely that we could have been seeing the odds reversed on Mbappe and Messi for the Ballon D’Or.

As of the end of January, Mbappe is currently Ligue 1’s top goalscorer and if he is able to stay top, along with helping PSG win possibly both the league and the Champions League, he’ll be in the running for the award.

Erling Haaland

After Messi and Mbappe, the Ballon D’Or odds drop significantly and the only other contender at the current time in my opinion is Manchester City’s Erling Haaland.

Haaland arrived at the Etihad from Borussia Dortmund back in June and although the world recognised the youngster as a huge talent, how he’d perform for City this season was uncertain given that he had never played in the English Premier League before. However, he proved all doubters wrong from the off and is set to finish his first stint in the English top-flight as the leagues top goalscorer despite us only being half way through the season. He’s notched up 25 goals in 19 appearances for City and looking more than likely to surpass the record of 34 goals scored in a single Premier League season set by Andy Cole in 1993/94 and matched by Alan Shearer the following year.

Haarland is currently odds of 11/1 to win the Ballon D’Or but he does have several things against him. Firstly, he didn’t feature in the 2022 World Cup with Norway not qualifying for the competition. That’s something that already puts him behind both Messi and Mbappe.

Secondly, Manchester City have faltered several times already this season which has left the current Premier League champions five points adrift of league-leaders Arsenal having played a game more. City will surely have to top the table if Haarland is to pick up the Ballon D’Or and currently, they’re second favourites to achieve that.

Lastly, despite reaching the final in 2021, Manchester City have never won the UEFA Champions League and failed to progress past the quarter-finals stage in all but two of their last seven attempts. They certainly have the squad to go all the way this year but whether or not this is their season is yet to be determined. If they can lift Europe’s biggest football trophy for the first time in the clubs history later this year and Haarland plays a big part in them doing that, he should be in with a chance for the Ballon D’Or.

With much of the season still to run, Haarland looks like a value bet at odds of 11/1 but much will depend on City’s achievements this season along with the Norwegians input.

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