Some of the world's best footballers have spent their last 12 months vying to succeed the 2022 Ballon d'Or winner Karim Benzema and the race is now over as a shortlist will be announced on Wednesday, September 6th. This year's race promised to be a unique battle with the World Cup taking place in between the 2022-23 football campaign. There is no doubt that playing a starring role in Qatar boosted the chances and profile of some players in the competition for the Golden Ball, especially Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe. The winners of domestic and European titles especially the UEFA Champions League grabbed some late-season attention. The big question therefore is; Who, then, has put themselves in the frame for the biggest individual honour of them all as we await the nominations reveal on September 6?

Lionel Messi's iconic World Cup win in Qatar is likely to be enough to earn him an eighth Ballon d'Or even though he did not have such a great campaign with PSG last season. He is now done with European football after recently moving to the USA to play for Inter Miami which could probably mean that if he wins this award, it might be his eighth and final one. His stellar form at Inter Miami, however, suggests that he can still produce unstoppable performances regardless of his advancing age. The closest competitor to Messi in the race for the golden ball is Erling Haaland who broke countless records over the course of last season which surprisingly was his first in English Premier League football. It was his effort that played a massive role in Pep Guardiola's Manchester City bagging a treble after winning the Premier League, Champions League, and FA Cup. However, a run of just one goal in his final eight games of the campaign for Man City may be his undoing. Another close Messi competitor is his former PSG teammate Kylian Mbappe. The Frenchman himself believes that he has done enough to win the personal award as he scored 50 goals both for club and country, won the league title, and won the Golden Boot in the World Cup where he scored a hat-trick in the final. Coming up as runners-up in Qatar behind Argentina and coming short in the Champions League run with PSG are likely to cost him this inevitable first Ballon d'Or. 

Vinicius Jr. rightfully deserves to be on the shortlist for this prestigious personal award given his great performance despite a hostile Spanish La Liga opposition crowd where he was severally racially abused. His form was superb comfortably putting him in a world-class performance in the footballing world. He inspired Real Madrid to lift the Copa del Rey, the Club World Cup, and the UEFA Super Cup. Falling short in the Champions League semi-final against Manchester City and in the World Cup quarter-finals against Croatia may be the reason why he will miss out on the prestigious award this time around but the Brazilian forward has a profile of a future Ballon d'Or winner. Manchester City's Kevin de Bruyne will not in any way miss out on the shortlist as he has proved to be the best playmaker of his generation with 32 assists last season. His form was key to City hitting the heights it achieved during the last campaign. He was injured during the Champions League final but at least his team ensured that he was awarded a winning medal. Manchester City is not short of men who will be shortlisted in the Ballon d'Or award as Rodri who might be arguably the best midfielder in the world is expected to also be named. The Spain international has become a huge consistent performer for the EPL title holders. He started 52 games for City last season and he netted the winning goal in the UCL against Inter Milan.

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We then head to Arsenal's Bukayo Saka. The England winger deserves to be amongst those on the 30-man shortlist for his essential role in Arsenal's last season campaign despite the Gunners losing the Premier League title race to eventual champions Manchester City. Lautaro Martinez may have burnt his chances at Istanbul when he failed to convert in a great opportunity that would have seen Inter Milan get a lead over Manchester City in the UEFA Champions League final. However, given his role in Argentina's World Cup win, his two goals to win the Coppa Italia, and his goalscoring record in Serie A last season, the Argentine deserves to be recognized. Jude Bellingham is expected to definitely make it to the list as one can only theorize whether Borussia Dortmund would have won the Bundesliga title had he been fit for the final day of the season. His performance was the driving force behind BVB getting close to winning the title that was snatched by run-away winners Bayern Munich on the final day of the Bundesliga season. 

Robert Lewandowski might not have a great chance of getting his hands on the Ballon d'Or as the ones he previously had while in Bayern Munich but will definitely make it to the final list having been superb in firing Barcelona to win the La Liga title. Napoli star Victor Osimhen will forever be remembered by the team fans after his goal sealed their first Serie A title in 33 years. Their last one had been won when Diego Maradona played for the team back in the day. Napoli was successful in keeping Osimhen from the clutches of the transfer window and has already made a fast start for the new Serie A campaign. Ilkay Gundogan effectively captained Manchester City to a treble as his braces against Leeds and Everton late last season effectively sealed the Premier League title for City. His stunning double at Wembley then handed City the FA Cup title as they won over Manchester United. 

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(Image: Goal)