Ballon d'Or 2023: Winner Revealed and Complete List of Award Recipients and Nominees at Prestigious Football Trophy Ceremony

In the men's main award, Lionel Messi faced tough competition from Manchester City striker Erling Haaland and Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappe. However, Messi's chances of winning the award again are slim as he currently plays for MLS side Inter Miami. Unless he makes a return to European football, it may be difficult for Messi to reclaim the top spot in the future.

In the women's award, Alexia Putellas' reign had to come to an end as injury meant her involvement last season for club and country was limited. Her Barcelona teammate, Aitana Bonmati, was the favourite to win after starring for Barca and Spain.

There were also trophies to hand out for the best Under-21 men's player, the best men's goalkeeper, the most prolific striker, and prizes honouring the best club sides in the continent.

The Sporting News runs through who emerged victorious at the 2023 Ballon d'Or gala at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, across not just the most coveted prize, but the other awards given out that evening as well.

MORE: Who was the last Premier League player to win the Ballon d'Or?

Who won the last Ballon d'Or in 2023?

Lionel Messi won a record-extending eighth Ballon d'Or as he was rewarded for his vital role in Argentina's World Cup triumph and lifting the Ligue 1 title with Paris Saint-Germain.

He beat Manchester City's Erling Haaland, who finished second despite winning the treble and breaking all sorts of records, including the most goals in a Premier League season by any player. 

Kylian Mbappe placed third after he became only the second man to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final and the first since 1966.

Messi carried his national side in Qatar with seven goals and three assists in his seven World Cup appearances. He was one of only three Argentina players to play every single minute of their campaign.

Jude Bellingham claimed the Trophee Kopa for the best Under-21 player in the world. The Englishman also shared his views on Messi's win: "It's a World Cup year and Lionel Messi had a fantastic World Cup. He deserves to win the Ballon d'Or."

Aitana Bonmati won the Ballon d'Or Feminin, becoming the fourth different winner of the prize since its inception in 2018.

Ballon d'Or 2023 final results for men's award

Final Ballon d'Or rankings

RankPlayerNationalityClub1. Lionel MessiArgentinaInter Miami2. Erling HaalandNorwayManchester City3. Kylian MbappeFranceParis Saint-Germain4. Kevin De BruyneBelgiumManchester City5. RodriSpainManchester City6. Vinicius JuniorBrazilReal Madrid7. Julian AlvarezArgentinaManchester City8. Victor OsimhenNigeriaNapoli9. Bernardo SilvaPortugalManchester City10. Luka ModricCroatiaReal Madrid11.Mohamed SalahEgyptLiverpool12.Robert LewandowskiPolandBarcelona13.Yassine BounouMoroccoSevilla14.Ilkay GundoganGermanyMan City/Barcelona15.Emiliano MartinezArgentinaAston Villa16.Karim BenzemaFranceReal Madrid17.Khvicha KvaratskheliaGeorgiaNapoli18.Jude BellinghamEnglandBorussia Dortmund/Real Madrid19.Harry KaneEnglandTottenham/Bayern Munich20.Lautaro MartinezArgentinaInter Milan21.Antoine GriezmannFranceAtletico Madrid22.Kim Min-JaeSouth KoreaNapoli/Bayern Munich23.Andre OnanaCameroonMan United24.Bukayo SakaEnglandArsenal25.Josko GvardiolCroatiaRB Leipzig/Man City26.Jamal MusialaGermanyBayern Munich27.Nicolo BarellaItalyInter MilanT-28.Randal Kolo MuaniFranceEintracht Frankfurt/PSGT-28.Martin OdegaardNorwayArsenal30.Ruben DiasPortugalMan CityList of men's Ballon d'Or winners

The first Ballon d'Or was awarded in 1956 to Blackpool legend Stanley Matthews, one of the greats of the English game.

Dutch giant Johan Cruyff became the first player to win it three times in the 1970s. French star Michel Platini won it three times in a row — the first to achieve that feat — in the 80s.

Messi and Ronaldo dominated from 2008-2017, with only Luka Modric capable of stopping that run in 2018.

Messi then won the 2021 Ballon d'Or, beating out Robert Lewandowski and Jorginho by a narrow margin for his seventh trophy before lifting his eighth in 2023. 

YearPlayerClub1956Stanley MatthewsBlackpool1957Alfredo Di StefanoReal Madrid1958Raymond KopaReal Madrid1959Alfredo Di StefanoReal Madrid1960Luis SuarezBarcelona1961Omar SivoriJuventus1962Josef MasopustDukla Prague1963Lev YashinDynamo Moscow1964Denis LawManchester United1965EusebioBenfica1966Bobby CharltonManchester United1967Florian AlbertFerencvaros1968George BestManchester United1969Gianni RiveraAC Milan1970Gerd MullerBayern Munich1971Johann CruyffAjax1972Franz BeckenbauerBayern Munich1973Johann CruyffBarcelona1974Johann CruyffBarcelona1975Oleg BlokhinDynamo Kyiv1976Franz BeckenbauerBayern Munich1977Allan SimonsenGladbach1978Kevin KeeganHamburg1979Kevin KeeganHamburg1980Karl-Heinz RummeniggeBayern Munich1981Karl-Heinz RummeniggeBayern Munich1982Paolo RossiJuventus1983Michel PlatiniJuventus1984Michel PlatiniJuventus1985Michel PlatiniJuventus1986Igor BelanovDynamo Kyiv1987Ruud GullitAC Milan1988Marco van BastenAC Milan1989Marco van BastenAC Milan1990Lothar MatthausInter Milan1991Jean-Pierre PapinMarseille1992Marco van BastenAC Milan1993Roberto BaggioJuventus1994Hristo StoichkovBarcelona1995George WeahAC Milan1996Mathias SammerBorussia Dortmund1997RonaldoInter Milan1998Zinedine ZidaneJuventus1999RivaldoBarcelona2000Luis FigoReal Madrid2001Michael OwenLiverpool2002RonaldoReal Madrid2003Pavel NedvedJuventus2004Andriy ShevchenkoAC Milan2005RonaldinhoBarcelona2006Fabio CannavaroReal Madrid2007KakaAC Milan2008Cristiano RonaldoManchester United2009Lionel MessiBarcelona2010Lionel MessiBarcelona2011Lionel MessiBarcelona2012Lionel MessiBarcelona2013Cristiano RonaldoReal Madrid2014Cristiano RonaldoReal Madrid2015Lionel MessiBarcelona2016Cristiano RonaldoReal Madrid2017Cristiano RonaldoReal Madrid2018Luka ModricReal Madrid2019Lionel MessiBarcelona2020——2021Lionel MessiPSG2022Karim BenzemaReal Madrid2023Lionel MessiInter MiamiList of Ballon d'Or Feminin winners

The women's Ballon d'Or has been awarded since 2018 with the 2020 event cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ballon d'Or Feminin

YearPlayerClub2018Ada HegerbergLyon2019Megan RapinoeOL Reign2020——2021Alexia PutellasBarcelona2022Alexia PutellasBarcelona2023Aitana BonmatiBarcelonaWho won the Gerd Muller trophy? 

Erling Haaland lifted the Gerd Muller Trophy for his remarkable debut season at Manchester City and his performances with Norway.

The prestigious accolade is named after legendary striker Gerd Muller and is presented to the top striker of the previous European season, both in club and international competitions. Haaland is only the second player to win it, following Robert Lewandowski in 2021 and 2022.

Haaland with his Gerd Muller Trophy! #ballondor pic.twitter.com/PmZ0ZqMUwg

— Ballon d'Or #ballondor (@ballondor) October 30, 2023

Haaland had a phenomenal first season, breaking records with 52 goals in all competitions. He set a new Premier League record with 36 goals, including six hat-tricks, and was the Champions League's top scorer with 12 goals, helping City secure their first European trophy.

Who won the Yashin trophy for best goalkeeper?

Emiliano Martinez of Aston Villa won the Yashin Trophy for his instrumental role in guiding Argentina to World Cup victory.

In a touching moment, his father made a surprise appearance to present him with the award.

He was in fact booed on stage by some French fans due to his previous taunting of Kylian Mbappe following the World Cup final. Award host Didier Drogba had to intervene and urged the audience to show respect during Martinez's presentation.

Who won the Kopa Trophy for world's best young player?

Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham won the Kopa Trophy for the world's best player under-21.

JUDE BELLINGHAM IS THE 2023 KOPA TROPHY! #TrophéeKopa #ballondor pic.twitter.com/JuEvgY1WAO

— Ballon d'Or #ballondor (@ballondor) October 30, 2023

Bellingham's 14 goals in 42 matches for Borussia Dortmund last season helped him clinch this award and he also played a key role in England's World Cup journey.

The 20-year-old beat out other notable nominees, including Bayern Munich's Jamal Musiala and former winners like Gavi and Pedri from Barcelona, along with Real Madrid teammate Eduardo Camavinga.

Who won the Socrates Award?

Vinicius Junior won this award as he received recognition for his foundation, the Vini Jr Institute, which uses technology to provide education to disadvantaged children in Brazil.

.@vinijr after winning the Socrates Award! #prixsocrates with @peaceandsport / #ballondor pic.twitter.com/UakgEeirhP

— Ballon d'Or #ballondor (@ballondor) October 30, 2023

In 2022, he allocated €335,000 to the foundation, a figure that increased to over €1 million in 2023, and is set to reach €2.5 million in 2024.

Co-host of the awards night Didier Drogba emphasised that the award doesn't solely honour his community efforts but also his campaign against racism.