Osimhen (file photo)
‘Seven Manchester City players are on the 30-man shortlist for the 2023 Ballon d’Or’
Nigerian international and Napoli striker, Victor Osimhen, is among the 30-man shortlist for the latest edition of Ballon d’Or.
Other players in the list, according to BBC, include England’s Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka and Harry Kane.
Seven Manchester City players are on the 30-man shortlist for the 2023 Ballon d’Or.
City’s Erling Haaland is one of 12 Premier League players nominated.
Argentina legend Lionel Messi is favoured to win and extend his record to eight Ballons d’Or after winning the World Cup.
Also read: Super Eagles give out their best for Nigeria – Osimhen
Midfielder Bellingham and striker Kane both moved clubs this summer – to Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, respectively.
Treble-winning Manchester City is represented by record-breaking goalscorer Haaland, Kevin de Bruyne, Ruben Dias, World Cup winner Julian Alvarez, Bernardo Silva, Rodri and Josko Gvardiol.
Croatia defender Gvardiol was not at City last season but Ilkay Gundogan, now at Barcelona, was and he also makes the shortlist.
The other Premier League nominees are Arsenal’s Saka and Martin Odegaard, Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah, Manchester United keeper Andre Onana and Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.
There are two players who left European clubs this summer – Messi, who joined Inter Miami from Paris St-Germain, and current holder Karim Benzema, who left Real Madrid for Al-Ittihad.
Five-time winner Cristiano Ronaldo, who plays for Al-Nassr, was not nominated for the first time since 2003.
Bellingham, who joined Real from Borussia Dortmund this summer, is one of 10 nominees for the best young player award, the Kopa Trophy.
Manchester United new striker Rasmus Hojlund is also nominated.
Arsenal and England’s Aaron Ramsdale is one of the four Premier League goalkeepers on the 10-man shortlist for the Yashin Trophy, for the world’s best keeper.
Onana; Manchester City’s Ederson and Aston Villa’s Martinez, a World Cup winner with Argentina, are the others.
Ballon d’Or nominees
Josko Gvardiol (Manchester City, Croatia)
Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich, Germany)
Andre Onana (Manchester United, Cameroon)
Karim Benzema (Al-Ittihad, France)
Mohamed Salah (Liverpool, Egypt)
Bukayo Saka (Arsenal, England)
Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City, Belgium)
Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid, England)
Randal Kolo Muani (Paris St-Germain, France)
Bernardo Silva (Manchester City, Portugal)
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Napoli, Georgia)
Nicolo Barella (Inter Milan, Italy)
Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa, Argentina)
Ruben Dias (Manchester City, Portugal)
Erling Haaland (Manchester City, Norway)
Martin Odegaard (Arsenal, Norway)
Ilkay Gundogan (Barcelona, Germany)
Yassine Bounou (Sevilla, Morocco)
Julian Alvarez (Manchester City, Argentina)
Vinicius Jr (Real Madrid, Brazil)
Rodri (Manchester City, Spain)
Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid, France)
Lionel Messi (Inter Miami, Argentina)
Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan, Argentina)
Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona, Poland)
Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich, South Korea)
Luka Modric (Real Madrid, Croatia)
Kylian Mbappe (Paris St-Germain, France)
Harry Kane (Bayern Munich, England)
Victor Osimhen (Napoli, Nigeria)
.BBC
