Ballon d'Or 2023 ceremony: Lionel Messi and Aitana Bonmati win the 2023 men's and women's Ballon d'Ors!

Men's Ballon d'Or rankings

1.Lionel Messi

2. Erling Haaland

3. Kylian Mbappe

4. Kevin De Bruyne

5. Rodri

6. Vinicius

7. Julian Alvarez

8. Victor Osimhen

9. Bernardo Silva

10. Luka Modric

11. Mohamed Salah

12. Robert Lewandowski

13. Yassine Bounou

14. Ilkay Gundogan

15. Emiliano Martinez

16. Karim Benzema

17. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia

18. Jude Bellingham

19. Harry Kane

20. Lautaro Martinez

21. Antoine Griezmann

22. Kim Min-jae

23. Andre Onana

24. Bukayo Saka

25. Josko Gvardiol

26. Jamal Musiala

27. Nicolo Barella

28. Randal Kolo Muani

29. Martin Odegaard

30. Ruben Dias

Messi speaks

"I couldn't imagine having the career that I've had. Everything that I've achieved. The fortune I've had playing for the best team in the world, the best team in history. It's nice to win these individual trophies. To win the Copa America and then the World Cup, to get it done is amazing."

LIONEL MESSI WINS THE 2023 MEN'S BALLON D'OR!

He already had the record, now he's pulled further clear - Lionel Messi has won his EIGHTH Ballon d'Or. You have to think it is impossible that we will ever see the like of him again.

Bonmati speaks

"This is a dream for me. I have really good players by my side. To reach three straight Champions League finals as a club is special. Let's hope there's much more to come."

She was then asked about Pep Guardiola comparing her to Andres Iniesta.

"I've always said I'm proud to have been born on the same day as Guardiola. To be compared to Iniesta is a privilege. I admire Xavi, Busquets, Messi.

"There's also a very touching video, from Bonmati's friends and family. All of them speak well, but this from her father is particularly pertinent.

"I only ask for this not to overwhelm you. Please keep enjoying football, because without that, none of this really makes sense."

She's used to silverware by now...

AITANA BONMATI WINS THE 2023 WOMEN'S BALLON D'OR!

Well, there's no surprise there. What a talent she is. World champion with Spain, Spanish and European champion with Barcelona, a really gifted player.

Here we go, then. It's time to find out the winner of the women's Ballon d'Or...

Men's Ballon d'Or

7. Julian Alvarez (Man City & Argentina)

6. Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid & Brazil)

Women's Ballon d'Or: Places 7-5?

7. Alexandra Popp (Wolfsburg & Gemany)?

6. Olga Carmona (Barcelona & Spain)?

5. Mary Earps (Manchester United & England)

Manchester City, as English and European champions, are named the best men's side of the year!

Haaland wins the Muller Award!

Well, there is no surprise there. As Gary Lineker said, "the brilliant Erling Haaland" takes this one.

Emiliano Martinez wins the Yashin Trophy!

No surprise there, Emiliano Martinez wins the Yashin Trophy and, amazingly, he walks up on stage to boos. The French public haven't forgotten...

Barcelona take the prize for the best women's team of 2023, and it's hard to argue that the Spanish and European champions aren't deserving of it as Joan Laporta gives a speech.

The two trophies - the men's and women's prizes - are on their way down the Seine!

Women's Ballon d'Or: Places 10-8

10. Rachel Daly (Aston Villa & England)

9. Linda Caicedo (Real Madrid & Colombia)

8. Patricia Guijarro (Barcelona & Spain)

Vinicius wins the Socrates award!

Another Real Madrid award this evening, Vini's battling of social issues sees him win this one.

Places 10-8 announced

8. Victor Osimhen (Napoli & Nigeria)

9. Bernardo Silva (Man City & Portugal)

10. Luka Modric (Real Madrid & Croatia)

Bellingham wins the Kopa Trophy!

Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham will likely win the Ballon d'Or in the future, but this year he claims the Kopa Trophy!

Emiliano Martinez's pride

Argentina's World Cup-winning goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez has spoken to TNT Sports upon his arrival in Paris.

"It's a great achievement for me to be in this kind of ceremony. It's a proud moment for me and my family, and I just want to enjoy it.

"What we did with the national team was really incredible and we're still achieving things, winning games with Argentina and Aston Villa. It's a proud moment for me and my country, and life moves also on."

Can Haaland win the Ballon d'Or?

If it's not going to be Messi, most people expect Erling Haaland to be winning the big men's prize tonight. He has arrived in Paris.

Places 11-15 announced

We're ready to learn the Top 10 now, with a number of big names just missing out.

11: Mohamed Salah (Liverpool & Egypt)

12: Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona & Poland)

13: Yassine Bounou (Sevilla, Al Hilal & Morocco)

14: Ilkay Gundogan (Man City, Barcelona & Germany)

15: Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa & Argentina)

Bono takes 13th

The former Sevilla man is one of many to likely be recognised for an excellent World Cup last winter.

Gundogan in 14th

A Champions League winner and Barcelona's goalscorer in the recent Clasico, Ilkay Gundogan, can't make the top ten.

Bellingham places 18th in Ballon d'Or

Jude Bellingham will be backed to win the prize in the future, but he has to settle for 18th place in 2023. There is a real argument to say that he is the best player in the world at the moment, but the award takes in 12 months' work.

Into the top 20

Places 15-20 have been named for the 2023 Ballon d'Or, and last year's winner Karim Benzema has dropped as low as 16th.

Where does Messi keep keep his trophies?

When you win as many trophies as Lionel Messi, it is hard to find space for them all.

His 44 trophies are the most of all time. In the past year alone, the 36-year-old has added a World Cup with Argentina and a Leagues Cup trophy with his new club Inter Miami. He has the chance to turn those into a record-setting eighth Ballon d'Or, the trophy annually awarded to the world's best male footballer.

While some athletes stash their awards in the basement or display them in a huge trophy cabinet, the Barcelona legend returned his previous seven Ballon d'Or awards to the club museum.

Fans, youth players and new signings alike can go see Messi's impressive display at the Barcelona Museum. When players like Joao Cancelo and Joao Felix signed for Barcelona, they stood in awe of the Argentine's legacy when taking a tour of the facility.

If Lionel Messi does in fact take home his eighth Ballon d'Or, he may be looking for a new place for it. Messi only played for Paris Saint-Germain, Argentina and Inter Miami during the calendar year which makes him eligible for the award, so it wouldn't make much sense to give it to the Barcelona museum.

Messi's Ballon d'Or dominance

Messi dominated the competition that everyone wants to dominate in history: a World Cup, which has more power than any other title, especially if you do it while being the tournament's best player and Silver Shoe (seven goals and three assists in seven games) behind Kylian Mbappe. Messi scored in the round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals and in that epic final against France.

MARCA asked the Argentine in August this year about the possibility of receiving this eighth Ballon d'Or and this was his response in his first appearance as an Inter Miami player: "I think I've said it many times during my career. The Ballon d'Or is a very important award because of what it means. For its recognition, it is one of the most beautiful awards in the world on an individual level. But I never gave importance, in inverted commas, to individual awards. The most important thing was the collective awards. I was lucky enough to win everything in my career, and the World Cup was what I was missing. That's why now, after Qatar, I'm thinking much less about that prize. Now I'm enjoying my moment. I'm not thinking about the Ballon d'Or. If it comes, good; and if not, I'm satisfied that I have achieved my objectives and... now I have others with this club. This is what we came here for, to help the club win titles and on a personal level I'm also thinking about that".

Messi aiming for his eighth Ballon d'Or

It could be another special year for Messi with an award that he has dominated since 2009, as he has lifted it in these years: 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019 and 2021.

And all of them, without any major contestation, except for 2021, in which he shared merits with Robert Lewandowski. An eighth Ballon d'Or that would be far ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo's five (2008, 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017). Behind are the three of Michel Platini, Marco van Basten and Johan Cruyff.

Messi would again be the 'king of Paris' - last year he was not even among the nominees - after being the 'king of Qatar' in December 2022.

The Ballon d'Or rewards the 2022-23 season and not even Erling Haaland's triple with Manchester City would hold sway with the voting journalists in judging who should be this year's winner.

Haaland won the Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup, and scored 52 goals in 53 total games for City.

Who votes for the Ballon d'Or 2023?

The voting process also evolved this year, with 100 journalists from the top 100 FIFA-ranked countries participating as jurors.

This is a reduction from the previous system, where up to 170 journalists voted in the men's category, and there are 50 jurors in the women's category.

These changes are expected to introduce more objectivity and focus on individual excellence in the Ballon d'Or award, making it an even more prestigious recognition in the world of football.

Ballon d'Or voting: New voting rules and criteria

In 2023, there are significant changes to the Ballon d'Or evaluation criteria.

Individual performance and the candidate's decisive and impressive character take precedence over the collective aspect and trophies won, as well as the player's class and sense of fair play.

This shift could favor players such as Messi and Erling Haaland, known for their extraordinary skills.