Bukayo Saka finished 24th and Martin Odegaard 28th in the voting for the 2023 Ballon d’Or, while Aaron Ramsdale came 8th in the running for the Yashin Trophy.
Martin and Bukayo received their first-ever nominations for the prestigious men’s award, which has been handed out since 1956, thanks to their displays to drive us towards a Premier League title tilt in 2022/23.
And Aaron also received a maiden shortlisting for the world’s best goalkeeper prize, as a result of his heroics between our posts during the same campaign.
However, once the votes of journalists from the top 100 countries in the FIFA rankings were pooled, Lionel Messi once again came out on top in the Ballon d’Or selection for the eighth time in his career after clinching his first World Cup winner’s medal last winter, with Erling Haaland finishing in second spot, and Kylian Mbappe in third.
Former Gunner Emiliano Martinez was handed the Yashin Trophy for his efforts in helping Argentina win their third global championship on penalties following a thrilling final against France in Qatar. Ederson came second, while Yassin Bounou was third.
Meanwhile, in the women’s Ballon d’Or, Amanda Ilestedt came in 15th position, while Katie McCabe finished 22nd.
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