Thibaut Courtois (Real Madird)

Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)

Rafael Leao (AC Milan)

Christopher Nkunku (RB Leipzig)

Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich)

Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)

Vinicius Jr (Real Madrid)

Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)

Luis Diaz (Liverpool)

Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona)

Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City)

Casemiro (Real Madrid)

Heung-Min Son (Tottenham)

Fabinho (Liverpool)

Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)

Mike Maignan (AC Milan)

Harry Kane (Tottenham)

Darwin Nunez (Liverpool)

Phil Foden (Manchester City)

Sadio Mane (Bayern Munich)

Sebastien Haller (Borussia Dortmund)

Luka Modric (Real Madrid)

Antonio Rudiger (Real Madrid)

Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)

Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City)

Dusan Vlahovic (Juventus)

Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)

Joao Cancelo (Manchester City)

Erling Haaland (Manchester City)

Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain)

The winner will be crowned at the Ballon d'Or ceremony on October 17 in Paris.

I will be shocked if Benz did not win it this time around. He and Lewa killed it, but he was part of more major contributions for Real.

Six Liverpool players among the top 30 in the world is dumb even to start, but I think you'd have a difficult time justifying them as Liverpool's best 6 players.

Like Nunez, really? And while I do love to see CDM's getting love, no Rodri is...odd.

Not seeing Messi is odd, but I agree, that he shouldn't be on the list this time out.

Dusan Vlahovic, Rafael Leao and Sebastian Haller? I mean, they all had excellent season but considering how important UEFA competitions are for this trophy, its kinda weird to see them there...

Anyway, if I had to pick my top 3 among those, I'd say Benzema far away in front, Courtois in second and M'bappe in third. I do think it'd be possible to see the like of Vinicius, Mane or Salah on the podium instead though.

Only outrageous outcome would be Benz not winning it tbf.

Leaving Messi outside top 30 is an absolute joke!! Im not a Messi fan and I recognize that he should not have won ballon dor over Lewa last year, but having him dropped this much is ridiculous.

@Pelle Yeah, it was kinda weird already not seeing Ronaldo in top 3 last time around, not having Messi is kinda... too soon man, too soon. :(

HAALAND!

Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)

Karim Benzema!!! I mean, we all knew he would win it but at last he can enjoy it for real. Did not expect to see Sadio Mane and KDB over Courtois and Vinicius but they were pretty much the best non Real player for me last season so happy for them.

Gavi and Camavinga over Bellingham, Musiala and Saka for the Kopa trophy is just weird man, to me at least. Thought?

absolutely deserved for Karim, though Courtois should have been in top3, but AFCON probably played too big role for Mane.

@quikzyyy Completely agree with you about both Benzema and Courtois. I think its also fair to say Benzema before last season was actually massively underated because he played so much for Ronaldo in CR7 years at Real.

If Benz does not win this time, I will be amazed. Lewa and he made it happen, although he made more significant contributions for Real.

@MarkBowen Yes bro, I agree with you. Are you a College student? Dealing with tight budgets but seeking top-quality research papers? Don't worry https://samedaypapers.com/write-my-paper-for-me-cheap/ has you covered. "Write my paper for me cheap?" Absolutely! Experience excellence at an affordable price with our expert assistance.

Now we are waiting for the 2023 Ballon D'or Winner. :)