The 2023 Ballon d’Or ceremony is still a few months away from us. But with the European club season already over, we can already predict the potential candidates. Needless to say, Lionel Messi and Erling Haaland are expected to lead the race for the award.

The Argentine superstar had a memorable performance in the last World Cup. At 35, he led Argentina to the ultimate glory and made a strong case to win his eighth award.

The Norwegian striker, on the other hand, had a fantastic season with Manchester City, helping the club complete the treble in his first year in England. Here, let’s take a look at everything these stars have achieved this season.

Lionel Messi’s 2022-23 season

Since the World Cup took place halfway through the 2022-23 season, Messi is widely seen as favorite to win the prize. While his campaign at PSG was not that impressive, the Argentine captain completely stole the show at Qatar 2022.

Messi scored seven goals in as many games, finding the net in every knockout round fixture. He was named Man of the Match in the final against France and won the World Cup Golden Ball. In the wake of his World Cup performance, Messi went on to win many other accolades.

Stats & Awards

  • Goals: 38
  • Assists: 25
  • Team awards: FIFA World Cup, Ligue 1
  • Individual awards: FIFA The Best, FIFA World Cup Golden Ball, FIFA World Cup Final MOTM, Laureus World Sportsman of the Year.

Erling Haaland’s 2022-23 season

Haaland forged a reputation for being a prolific goal scorer at Dortmund, and he lived up to the hype in his very first season with Manchester City. The Norwegian hitman was simply unstoppable in the 2022-23 campaign, having recorded more goals than appearances both in the Premier and Champions League.

Stats & Awards

  • Goals: 53
  • Assists: 9
  • Team awards: UEFA Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup.
  • Individual awards: Premier League Golden Boot, UEFA Champions League Top Scorer, Premier League Player of the Season, Premier League Young Player of the Season, Manchester City’s Player of the Season

The World Cup may have a lot of influence in this year’s Ballon d’Or, but Haaland also made a strong case to be in contention. The season is over, so now we’ll have to wait and see who ends up receiving the award in October 30 in Paris.