Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, William Saliba and Declan Rice have all been included on the 30-man shortlist for the 2023/24 Ballon d’Or.
Rice and Saliba are amongst the contenders for the first time after their steller performances for club and country while Saka and Odegaard are nominated for the second year in a row, underlining their growing reputations as two of the world’s best players.
We were going to dig out a load of stats to highlight how good the quartet were last season, but you’ve watched them, you know they’re all very good at their jobs.
Presented annually by France Football since 1956, the Ballon d’Or is widely acknowledged as the most prestigious award in world football despite falling outside FIFA’s jurisdiction. While there was a six-year period from 2010 when world football’s governing body was an official partner, they’ve since launched their own awards, clunkily known as ‘The Best’.
Perhaps sensing an opportunity to undermine FIFA, UEFA have struck a partnership with Groupe Amaury, the publishers of France Football and L’Equipe, and will be organising this year’s ceremony, which has been expanded to include a host of other awards.
For the first time since 2003, neither Cristiano Ronaldo nor Lionel Messi are nominated. With Luka Modric and Karim Benzema also ignored, it means the adjudicating panel of 100 journalists will select a new winner. Vinicius Junior, Rodri and Jude Bellingham are considered the favourites
The gala takes place on 28 October in Paris, the day after we face Liverpool at the Emirates, and represents another chance for the lads to dust off their dinner jackets.
They will be joined at the ceremony by Arsenal Women’s Mariona Caldentey who is a contender for the Women’s Ballon d’Or. She joined the Gunners from Barcelona this summer after scoring 19 goals in the Catalan side’s treble-winning season.
Ballon d’Or nominees
Jude Bellingham (England and Real Madrid)
Ruben Dias (Portugal and Manchester City)
Phil Foden (England and Manchester City)
Federico Valverde (Uruguay and Real Madrid)
Emiliano Martinez (Argentina and Aston Villa)*
Erling Haaland (Norway and Manchester City)
Nico Williams (Spain and Athletic Bilbao)
Granit Xhaka (Switzerland and Bayer Leverkusen)*
Artem Dovbyk (Ukraine and Roma)
Toni Kroos (former Germany and Real Madrid)
Vinicius Jr (Brazil and Real Madrid)
Dani Olmo (Spain and Barcelona)
Florian Wirtz (Germany and Bayer Leverkusen)
Martin Odegaard (Norway and Arsenal)
Mats Hummels (Germany, free agent)
Rodri (Spain and Manchester City)
Harry Kane (England and Bayern Munich)*
Declan Rice (England and Arsenal)
Vitinha (Portugal and Paris St-Germain)
Cole Palmer (England and Chelsea)
Dani Carvajal (Spain and Real Madrid)
Lamine Yamal (Spain and Barcelona)
Bukayo Saka (England and Arsenal)
Hakan Calhanoglu (Turkey and Inter Milan)
William Saliba (France and Arsenal)
Kylian Mbappe (France and Real Madrid)
Lautaro Martinez (Argentina and Inter Milan)
Ademola Lookman (Nigeria and Atalanta)
Antonio Rudiger (Germany and Real Madrid)
Alejandro Grimaldo (Spain and Bayer Leverkusen)
*ex-Arsenal
__
Women’s Ballon d’Or nominees
Aitana Bonmati (Spain and Barcelona)
Barbra Banda (Zambia and Orlando Pride)
Tarciane (Brazil and Houston Dash)
Lauren Hemp (England and Manchester City)
Trinity Rodman (United States and Washington Spirit)
Ada Hegerberg (Norway and Lyon)
Manuela Giugliano (Italy and Roma)
Mallory Swanson (United States and Chicago Red Stars)
Glodis Viggosdottir (Iceland and Bayern Munich)
Mariona Caldentey (Spain and Arsenal)
Lauren James (England and Chelsea)
Lea Schuller (Germany and Bayern Munich)
Patricia Guijarro (Spain and Barcelona)
Gabi Portilho (Brazil and Corinthians)
Tabitha Chawinga (Malawi and Lyon)
Caroline Graham Hansen (Norway and Barcelona)
Lindsey Horan (United States and Lyon)
Sjoeke Nusken (Germany and Chelsea)
Yui Hasegawa (Japan and Manchester City)
Lucy Bronze (England and Chelsea)
Salma Paralluelo (Spain and Barcelona)
Giulia Gwinn (Germany and Bayern Munich)
Khadija Shaw (Jamaica and Manchester City)
Grace Geyoro (France and Paris St-Germain)
Alexia Putellas (Spain and Barcelona)
Sophia Smith (United States and Portland Thorns)
Ewa Pajor (Poland and Barcelona)
Alyssa Naeher (United States and Chicago Red Stars)
Mayra Ramirez (Colombia and Chelsea)
Marie-Antoinette Katoto (France and Paris St-Germain)
If Rodri wins it and starts talking about the importance of always playing to win, never to draw then I want Saliba and Rice to give him an atomic wedgie that splits his nut sack.
if Rodri wins it I want to watch him subsequently hand it over to Martin Odegaard along with his PL winners medal in a few weeks time.
I think you don’t have enough appreciation for the abilities of Man City’s extraordinary team. I mean their lawyers, obviously.
Nah.
City are in loads of trouble. Relegation loading.
Before anything else I invite everyone to just for a moment not think about anything other than the title of this article, just focus on the fact that we have five of ours up for the top individual prize in football, and appreciate that we live in a golden age.
But within the article itself there’s only four. Also I might have missed the period Kane was a Gunner (closet?).
Not sure if you’re being deliberately obtuse or lacking in comprehension but the fifth is Mariona Caldentey
I mean she hadn’t played a single game for arsenal when she was nominated
Someone else already corrected you on the total number. As for Kane, I found the mention of ‘ex-Arsenal’ particularly funny there. It is true, he was in our academy as a child.
…but was let go, partly because he was a bit chubby. That was obviously incorrect. He was just a bit Spursy, and thus from a young age spotted as a very special talent that would never win any trophies.
Love seeing Xhaka on that list too, Martínez not so much
Seeing xhaka on the ballon dor shortlist demonstrates just how silly this shortlist is
We’ve still never replaced him. Really miss him.
For being one of the best players on a team that destroyed Bayern and went unbeaten in the Bundesliga, the German Cup and almost all the way in Europa? You don’t think for that he belongs in the 30 players who have done the best in Europe last season?
Not to mention his continual centrality to the Swiss National Team
specialy thursday night…
Average player for a team who produced a miracle last year. Would say the same thing if Danny Drinkwater got a Ballon Dor nomination after Leicester won the league.
He was pretty instrumental in a side that went unbeaten & won the league for the first time. That should be enough, shouldn’t it?
Emi will do what he always does at functions…
Hit the bar and go off his head.
Arsenal unfortunately did not make as much use of the quality and individual value of Xhaka and Martinez during their long stay here. Until the arrival of Partey in 2020, a four-year spell, the Swiss had no worthy midfield partner (Elneny, Ivobi and Torreira were not up to the high standard) and the team looked poor and vulnerable in both the creative and the attacking areas. For the next couple of years or so Xhaka was the scapegoat for a large proportion of our fans and an even larger proportion of English referees, despite being the most consistently performing player… Read more »
i couldn’t give a fish’s tit about the salty gooner’s incoming downvotes, but someone has to say it. im immensely proud of emi martinez. a product of arsenal’s academy, spent more than ten years with us, and went to win the world cup as the best keeper of the tournament, fifa’s best keeper of the year award, and now nominated for the ballon d’or. cry all you want: he’s the best keeper in the world, and the best and most successful academy graduate we’ve had in decades. and whether you agree with that statement or not, he’s been unjustly disrespected… Read more »
I don’t think the two things are necessarily contradictory. You can be proud of the player he has become coming out of our system, but also not hold a very high view of him as a person. The latter being based principally on considerable experience actually watching his antics on the pitch – which against us absolutely do not demonstrate any credibility around anything he’s stated about how much he loves and supports us. Also, while I appreciate he’s the only goalkeeping nominee on the list, I also don’t think he’s anywhere near the best goalkeeper in the world, which… Read more »
If I were assessing Martinez only as a keeper, apart from both his ex-Arsenal status and his incredibly annoying personality, I would say he is a decent, Prem-quality keeper. Good but not exceptional shot-topper, though he has made some really important saves, especially with his feet (but, you know, that’s not the be-all of the position anymore–ask David De Gea, the best shot-stopper I think I have ever seen). Not as good on crosses as one would expect from someone his size, but still fine. Inconsistent distribution, often poor when pressed. Not as good positionally as the best (Ederson, Allison,… Read more »
Yes, I was thinking about that after watching the game against Villa the other week. The goal Partey scored was weak from him. He also let in a very soft one in the home game the season before last, from Martinelli. Not that I’m saying he should be judged on two games, but I think a lot of the time we have focussed on the things he does well in a “the one that got away” kind of way. You never see us as Arsenal fans highlighting the mistakes he has made since leaving (and there are quite a few,… Read more »
Agree, nice analysis. He’s not quick enough off his line, barely average with the ball. Top shot stopper down to his right, suspect down to his left. Big personality inflates perception of actual ability. Judged on traditional gk stuff though I respect how he maximized his talent, much better than we thought when we sold him.
yeah sure he’s not the best shot stopper or passer or whatever. but talent or skill is not the only thing that matter in sport. you have to have some big balls and the right mentality to win things. and the character emi has is unmatched. argentina don’t have “a bad defence”, they’ve lost 2 matches in 62 in the last 5 years my friend. and on every decisive match, emi martinez has been a standout performer. you can’t explain why, numbers can’t. but every time it matters, he delivers. argentina hadn’t won anything before he arrived. villa was fighting… Read more »
as a person, you don’t actually know him. if you could get to know him through a screen, then you should have into account all the interviews he’s given, in which he comes across as a very decent lad. but if you only look at his performances as a player, you’ll find that he doesn’t do anything wrong at all. you might find his behavior annoying, but he doesn’t do anything unsportsmanlike. you won’t see him insulting anybody nor punching people around. he just likes mind games and happens to be the best goalkeeper at that. and his team has… Read more »
I’d argue our best and most successful academy graduate is Bukayo Saka.
all good with saka, but he’s got 2 community shields and 1 FA cup, 0 individual awards. not really “successful”, is he? only cesc fabregas comes to mind as a proper rival.
You’re entitled to your opinion but Martinez is absolutely not the world’s best keeper. That’s just crazy hyperbole.
He was the best keeper during the World Cup that’s probably where people are coming from it’s a bit like how in a WC year the Balon Dor always goes to a payer that wins the World Cup
0 individual awards?
England Men’s Player of the Year: 2021–22, 2022–23
Premier League Player of the Month: March 2023
PFA Team of the Year: 2022–23
PFA Young Player of the Year: 2022–23
Arsenal Player of the Season: 2020–21, 2021–22
IFFHS Men’s Youth (U20) World Team: 2021
London Football Awards Men’s Young Player of the Year: 2023
Beyond that, I’d ask which one would you rather have in your team?
Harry Kane is being considered ex-Arsenal because he has a cannon shaped trophy?
From today’s blog:
“…or Fletch from TNT Sport winning commentator of the year ahead of literally anyone else in the world who could make even a mild grunting sound into a microphone”
I spat my coffee everywhere! lol
Casimiro should be on this list.
Arsenal have 4 nominees, which is tied with Man City and only behind Real Madrid. Did anyone think we would have 4 nominees on this list even 3-4 years ago? I think you’d have been laughed out of the room.