2023 Ballon d’Or: Top 5 Favourites To Win The Award This Year

Betting Tips Africa is back with a brand new volume of our popular Soccer Vista series. This series of articles get centred around the sport of football. 

It is common knowledge that these pieces are generated on a weekly basis. Furthermore, it is also commonly known by our readers that the primary objective of these Soccer Vista article series is not only targeted at raising more people’s awareness of football.

These series are also intended to provide gamblers with assistance in making successful gaming decisions. In addition to this, they discuss the most recent events that have occurred in the world of football.

Overall, the summary of the purpose of our product known as “Soccer Vista” is to broaden the footballing knowledge base of bettors while simultaneously assisting them in winning more money from their wagers. 

The topic of discussion for this week’s episode of Soccer Vista will be the Ballon d’Or, which gets often regarded as the most prestigious individual honour that can be bestowed upon a football player anywhere in the globe.

The winner of the Ballon d’Or is considered to be the best player in football and is quite a big deal. As was to be expected, this subject is currently dominating the conversation on virtually every social media platform and news publication.

Now, our “Soccer Vista” editorial team at Betting Tips Africa will speak on their predictions for the top five favourites to take home the Ballon d’Or award for this year’s edition. This will also include information about the ways in which our readers can profit from it. 

But before we get into the meat and potatoes of this edition of Soccer Vista, let’s take a quick look at what the Ballon d’Or award means. We will also give an overview of its history and some of the biggest players to have won it multiple times.

This will set the stage for the rest of our article. Our readers are able to get a grasp on the fundamentals of this article by following this format, which serves as our model.

What Is The Ballon d’Or?

No matter how well all players in the world perform, there will always be one special one who has done a bit more or who has achieved a bit more than his peers. This breed of players is consistently awarded a special award at the end of the footballing year.

The ceremony to determine the group of players who get considered to be the finest in the world is known as the “Ballon d’Or” or “Golden Ball” ceremony. Each year, all attention is focused on this event due to the value it holds in the footballing world.  

The Ballon d’Or, often known as the “Golden Ball“, is the most prestigious individual award a player can receive in football generally. Currently, the award is given to both the best male and best female players around the world.

Since 1956, this iconic individual trophy has become synonymous with the game’s all-time best players. Furthermore, it has been presented to some of the most illustrious names in football history. 

The Ballon d’Or award has been presented to a number of the game’s most legendary players. These set of iconic names include Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Diego Armando Maradona, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldinho Gaucho, Ricardo Kaka, and a great many others.  

The Ballon d’Or was introduced and given out for the first time in 1956 by the French news publication France Football

Since then, it has been presented each and every year, with the exception of the 2020 season because of the widespread COVID-19 pandemic. The 67th iteration of the award presentation will take place this year, 2023.  

Ballon d’Or History

Since 1956, the French weekly magazine “France Football” has been honouring the best football players in the world with the Ballon d’Or, sometimes referred to as the “Golden Ball.” 

Initially, the award was only given to the player deemed to be the best on the European continent. However, in 1995, France Football made a decision that any player from a European club, regardless of nationality, was eligible for the award.

This resulted in the award getting opened up to a much wider pool of candidates. In the same year, George Weah, a player for AC Milan who was originally from Liberia, became the first non-European and first African to win the coveted award.

In 2007, France Football made yet another adjustment to the requirements. This time, they made it possible for players from any country or professional club in the globe to compete, regardless of their nationality. 

Because of this decision, the Ballon d’Or got essentially elevated to the position of world player of the Year award, despite the fact that there was still a distinct accolade reserved for the FIFA world player of the Year award.

As part of an agreement with FIFA, the Ballon d’Or award was temporarily combined with the FIFA World Player of the Year award (which had been established in 1991) and given the name “FIFA Ballon d’Or” between the years 2010 and 2015. 

This partnership came to an end in 2016, at which point the award went back to being known as the Ballon d’Or, and FIFA also went back to presenting its own distinct annual award known as The Best FIFA Men’s Player. 

FIFA and France Football recognise winners of the joint “FIFA Ballon d’Or” (during their collaboration) as winners of their separate awards (after separation).

Ballon d’Or Winners At A Glance

  • The most recent winner of the Ballon d’Or is French and Real Madrid hitman Karim Benzema. The scary striker took home the trophy in 2022. 
  • In its first year of existence, the Ballon d’Or was awarded to Stanley Matthews of the English team Blackpool.
  • In 1995, when the criteria for who is eligible to win the Ballon d’Or award were modified, George Weah of Liberia became the first person from a continent other than Europe to take home the prize. He is also the only winner from Africa.
  • Two years later, in 1997, De Lima Ronaldo of Brazil became the first winner of the Ballon d’Or from South America.
  • The record for most times to win the award belongs to Argentine wizard Lionel Messi with seven, followed by Portuguese goal machine Cristiano Ronaldo with five. 
  • Johan Cruyff, Michel Platini, and Marco van Basten are the only players to have won the award three times apiece in their careers. 
  • Two of the biggest clubs in the world, Barcelona and Real Madrid, are tied for first place in the leaderboard for generating the most winners of the Ballon d’Or. Both clubs have 12 victories to their names. 
  • In their careers, nine players have won the FIFA World Cup, the European Cup/UEFA Champions League, and the Ballon d’Or. These players are Bobby Charlton, Paolo Rossi, Franz Beckenbauer, Gerd Muller, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho, Kaká, Zinedine Zidane, and Lionel Messi.

Now that we have revealed all there is to know about the most prestigious individual award in football, the Ballon d’Or, Betting Tips Africa, will be revealing the top five favourites to take home the Ballon d’Or award for this year’s edition.

In addition to that, we will be providing ideas on how bettors can make money off of these forecasts by placing bets on them.

Lionel Messi

The Argentine wizard is having a massive decline as he grows older with age. This is visible in his performances and ultimate falling out with the PSG (Paris St Germain) executives.

Despite all these, Messi is still very much a danger on the pitch, and his brilliance helped Argentina win a much awaited World Cup in Qatar last year. Worth noting that the Albiceleste last won the trophy in 1986, under the brilliance of legendary playmaker Diego Armando Maradona.

This is the trophy that has eluded Messi throughout his career, and his triumph in 2022 drove him up the Ballon d’Or rankings. The diminutive playmaker is a top favourite for the 2023 award, and if he wins, it will bring his tally up to eight, a monumental achievement.

Staking on Messi to win the Ballon d’Or is a good betting decision. The possibility is high, he won the biggest trophy in the world, and he is no stranger to winning the award. Gamers can stake on this possibility with Bookies like Betway, William Hill, and Bet365 amongst many others.

Reviews on these Sportsbooks and others are also available here at Betting Tips Africa. Bear in mind that reviews are also a key component in helping bettors understand the intricacies of sports betting.

Erling Braut Haaland

When Erling Braut Haaland was still playing in the Bundesliga for Borussia Dortmund, he was one of the most in-demand players on the planet. 

Following his high-profile transfer to the Etihad Stadium for a large sum of money, he has not let his new team down, as he scored multiple goals right away. His goals have led him to break the seasonal Premier League goal record which Alan Shearer and Andy Cole previously held.

When Pep Guardiola and his squad prized the Norwegian marksman away from Borussia Dortmund, they had a good idea of what they were getting themselves. The physical specimen striker had a lot of power, he was fast, and he had a devastating finishing touch. 

Haaland currently has thirty-five goals in the Premier League. Manchester City are currently leading the Premier League standings whilst having a game in hand. They are also due to face world giants Real Madrid in the semifinal of the UEFA Champions League.

If Erling Haaland is successful in leading the Cityzens to victory in the English Premier League and the UEFA Champions League, he has a good chance to go ahead of Lionel Messi and win the Ballon d’Or.

Gamers can stake on this possibility with Bookies hosted on our site [Betting Tips Africa]. Lots of bookmakers like 1xBet offer good odds on events such as this. 

Kylian Mbappe

The Frenchman is no doubt a world-class player. He is the third favourite to win the Ballon d’Or in 2023. The lightning bolt attacker had an outstanding performance during the 2022 FIFA World Cup. 

He was able to guide his national team all the way to the final game of the competition, and he also ended up winning the Golden Ball award for the competition after appearing as the player who scored the most goals.

It may be a slim chance that Mbappe will win the race for the Ballon d’Or; however, it is not impossible. His team is also on the way to winning the French Ligue 1 after opening a five-point lead over the closest challenger Olympique Marseille.

To stake on Mbappe winning the award, gamers can stake their bets with any of the prestigious Bookies hosted on Betting Tips Africa. Do not forget that reviews of these Bookies are also available on our site.

Vinicius Jr

The Brazilian quick feet winger has been in outstanding form for Real Madrid after enduring a difficult start to his career at the Santiago Bernabeu. 

He ranks fourth on the Ballon d’Or standings but is a big risk when it comes to winning the award. However, it is not impossible, especially if his club wins the Champions League. 

Gamers who are willing to take the risk on Vinicius Jr can stake with any of the Bookmakers hosted on Betting Tips Africa.

Karim Benzema

The French striker is the current holder of the Ballon d’Or, having won it last year. This season has been a bit of a struggle for Benzema, with an injury derailing his world cup. It is a big risk to stake on Benzema to win the Ballon d’Or; however, this is football, and anything is possible.

To stake on the French striker to win the Ballon d’Or award, gamers can stake their bets with any of their preferred Sportsbooks, which are hosted on our site.

Sofoluwe Mayowa

By Sofoluwe Mayowa

Mayowa was born and bred in Nigeria. As a kid, he has naturally always been in love with sports, especially football being his most loved sport. Having gained admission into a higher institution, he moved in to play for the school team but was turned down several times. He managed to get into the school team in his final year and was able to win two trophies, a personal award of excellence whilst taking home the “Best defender of the year award.” Shortly after leaving school, he moved to an independent grassroots club where he worked his way up until he could play at a semi-professional level. He had to stop playing the round leather game and focus on other things due to a lack of sponsorship and funds to get into a proper football academy. Mayowa first got involved in the world of sports betting in 2009 when Nairabet began its operations in Nigeria as the first Sportsbook in the country. He gathered a lot of practical knowledge about betting through this opportunity. Since then, he has always loved to pass his knowledge through writing and hopes to help many others in the world of sports betting along the line.