Ballon d'Or 2023: Nominees revealed for the Golden Ball with Lionel Messi, Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe all in contention

The Ballon d'Or. Love it or loathe it, it's the award every footballer in the world dreams of one day winning. And now, after a memorable and unique 2022-23 campaign, the shortlist of nominees for the 2023 Golden Ball have been announced.

There are a host of top names vying to claim the prize that Karim Benzema took home in 2022, with performances not only at club level, but also at the 2022 World Cup, having been taken into account when selecting this year's list of potential winners.

Who will take home the prize? Will Lionel Messi pick up Ballon d'Or number eight after guiding Argentina to glory in Qatar? Or will Erling Haaland's record-breaking exploits for treble-winners Manchester City be enough? And could Kylian Mbappe or Vinicius Jr. force themselves into contention?

We will have to wait until the ceremony in Paris on Monday, October 30 to find out, but for now, here are the players who have been shortlisted for football's ultimate individual honour: