Nasser Al-Khelaifi is the president of Paris Saint-Germain. He thinks Kylian Mbappe should win the 2023 Ballon d’Or over Lionel Messi and the other nominees.

Paris Saint-Germain used to be proud to have Lionel Messi on their team. But the Argentine star is no longer in France, so the club doesn’t think twice about calling Kylian Mbappe the best soccer player on Earth.

In fact, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, the head of PSG, thinks the French scorer should win the Ballon d’Or in 2023. He told Le Parisien, “We have the best player in the world, and I think he deserves the Ballon d’Or.”

Mbappe is on the lists of 30 players, along with Messi, who has a good chance of winning his eighth award. Erling Haaland is also in the running. Last season, he played for Manchester City and helped them win the treble.

Who are the 30 people who are up for the Ballon d’Or in 2023?

  1. Josko Gvardiol (Leipzig / Manchester City)
  2. Andre Onana (Inter Milan / Manchester United)
  3. Karim Benzema (Real Madrid / Al-Ittihad)
  4. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
  5. Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich)
  6. Randal Kolo Muani (Frankfurt / PSG)
  7. Jude Bellingham (Dortmund / Real Madrid)
  8. Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa)
  9. Ruben Dias (Manchester City)
  10. Nicolo Barella (Inter Milan)
  11. Yassine Bounou (Sevilla / Al-Hilal)
  12. Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)
  13. Martin Odegaard (Arsenal)
  14. Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid)
  15. Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan)
  16. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Napoli)
  17. Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
  18. Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona)
  19. Kim Min-Jae (Napoli / Bayern Munich)
  20. Luka Modric (Real Madrid)
  21. Julian Alvarez (Manchester City)
  22. Victor Osimhen (Napoli)
  23. Ilkay Gundogan (Manchester City / Barcelona)
  24. Rodri (Manchester City)
  25. Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)
  26. Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid)
  27. Harry Kane (Tottenham / Bayern Munich)
  28. Kylian Mbappe (PSG)
  29. Erling Haaland (Manchester City)
  30. Lionel Messi (PSG / Inter Miami)

What date is the 2023 Ballon d’Or?

The 2023 Ballon d’Or gala will be held at the Théatre du Chatelet in Paris, France, on Monday, October 30.