Super Eagles and Super Falcons strikers, Victor Osimhen and Asisat Oshoala, respectively, have been shortlisted for the 2023 Ballon d’Or award in the men’s and women’s categories.
England stars, Bukayo Saka and Jude Bellingham, and Argentine superstar, Lionel Messi, were on Wednesday included on the shortlist for the 2023 men’s Ballon d’Or award, while Lionesses Mary Earps, Millie Bright, Rachel Daly, and Georgia Stanway were nominated for the women’s award.
Manchester City saw eight players named after their treble-winning season, led by Erling Haaland, who won the UEFA award for the best men’s player last Thursday, after his 52 goals last season.
He was joined by Kevin De Bruyne, Rodri, Bernardo Silva, Julian Alvarez, Ruben Dias, Josko Gvardiol, and Ilkay Gundogan, who joined Barcelona this summer.
Bayern Munich striker, Harry Kane, was also included after scoring 40 goals for club and country, but there was no place for Manchester United forward, Marcus Rashford, despite his 30 goals and 11 assists during the 2022/23 season.
Other notable Premier League inclusions were Aston Villa’s World Cup-winning goalkeeper, Emi Martinez; Liverpool forward, Mohamed Salah; and Arsenal’s Martin Odegaard.
PSG forward, Kylian Mbappe, was also among the nominees announced by organisers France Football magazine but Cristiano Ronaldo, who plays in Saudi Arabia for Al-Nassr, was not included for the first time since 2003 and Neymar was also not nominated.
READ ALSO: Napoli offer Osimhen N6.5bn 2-year contract
Chelsea’s Sam Kerr and City’s Khadija Shaw were among the 30 female nominees, alongside Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati, who helped Spain to World Cup glory last month.
However, Barcelona’s Alexia Putellas, who has won the women’s award for the past two years, was not nominated this year.
Osimhen, 24, won the Serie A title with Napoli last season scoring 26 goals in the league (31 goals in 39 games across all competitions).
28-year-old Oshoala was the top scorer for Barcelona Femeni last season after she notched 26 goals (21 league goals and five in the Women’s Champions League) in all competitions.
Seven-time winner Messi led Argentina to World Cup glory in Qatar last December, their first triumph since 1986.
The winners will be announced when the Ballon d’Or 2023 ceremony takes place at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, France, on October 30.
See the full list of nominees below:
Men’s Ballon d’Or:
Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid)
Harry Kane (Bayern Munich)
Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)
Martin Odegaard (Arsenal)
Erling Haaland (Man City)
Bernardo Silva (Man City)
Kevin De Bruyne (Man City)
Rodri (Man City)
Julian Alvarez (Man City)
Ruben Dias (Man City)
Josko Gvardiol (Man City)
Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
Andre Onana (Man United)
Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa)
Lionel Messi (Inter Miami)
Kylian Mbappe (PSG)
Randal Kolo Muani (PSG)
Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich)
Kim Min-Jae (Bayern Munich)
Karim Benzema (Al-Ittihad)
Vinicius Jr (Real Madrid)
Luka Modric (Real Madrid)
Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona)
Ilkay Gundogan (Barcelona)
Victor Osimhen (Napoli)
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Napoli)
Nicola Barella (Inter Milan)
Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan)
Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid)
Yassine Bounou (Al Hilal)
Women’s Ballon d’Or nominees
Mary Earps (Man United)
Millie Bright(Chelsea)
Rachel Daly (Aston Villa)
Georgia Stanway (Bayern Munich)
Sam Kerr (Chelsea)
Guro Reiten (Chelsea)
Katie Mccabe (Arsenal)
Khadija Shaw (Man City)
Jill Roord (Man City)
Yui Hasegawa (Man City)
Hayley Raso (Real Madrid)
Amanda Ilestedt (Arsenal)
Hinata Miyazawa (Man United)
Daphne Van Domselaar (Aston Villa)
Mapi Leon (Barcelona)
Asisat Oshoala (Barcelona)
Aitana Bonmati (Barcelona)
Patricia Guijarro (Barcelona)
Fridolina Rolfo (Barcelona)
Salma Paralluelo (Barcelona)
Olga Ramona (Real Madrid)
Linda Caicedo (Real Madrid)
Alba Redondo (Levante)
Wendie Renard (Lyon)
Kadidiatou Diani (Lyon)
Alexandra Popp (Wolfsburg)
Ewa Pajor (Wolfsburg)
Lena Oberdorf (Wolfsburg)
Debinha (Kansas City)
Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns)
Yashin Trophy nominees:
Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal)
Ederson (Manchester City)
Andre Onana (Inter Milan)
Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa)
Marc Andre Ter Stegen (Barcelona)
Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid)
Mike Maignan (AC Milan)
Yassine Bounou ( Al-Hilal)
Brice Samba (RC Lens)
Dominik Livakovic (Fenerbahce)
Kopa Trophy nominees:
Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid)
Eduardo Camavinga (Real Madrid)
Gavi (Barcelona)
Pedri (FC Barcelona)
Alejandro Balde (Barcelona)
Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich)
Rasmus Hojlund (Manchester United)
Xavi Simons (RB Leipzig)
Antonio Silva (Benfica)
Elye Wahi (RC Lens)
