Super Eagles of Nigeria forward, Victor Osimhen, has been nominated for the 2023 Ballon d’Or award alongside Lionel Messi, Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappe, Karim Benzema, and Kevin de Bruyne, among others.
The prestigious ceremony will take place in Paris on 30 October 2023.
Benzema, who helped the Spanish football giants, Real Madrid to the Champions League title in 2022, is the current holder of the Ballon d’Or.
The organisers of the award, French Football confirmed Osimhen’s nomination and others on the night of Wednesday, 6 September, 2023.
The nomination of Osimhen from the Italian football giants, Napoli, made him one of the few players from Nigeria to have achieved the feat.
The inform goal scorer was clinical in front of goals last season as he recorded 25 league goals, fending off the likes of Lautaro Martinez of Inter Milan and AC Milan’s Rafael Leao to win the solo prize for the Best Striker in Serie A.
Osimhen’s feat earned the 24-year-old player the accolade as the first African player to top the Serie A scorers’ chart.
That is not all for a Nigerian international who came to world attention by playing for the under-17 team as he also played a vital role in Napoli getting to the last eight of the money-spinning UEFA Champions League.
Osimhen also played a prominent role in Super Eagles qualification for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
Osimhen also broke George Weah’s record for the most goals scored by an African in the Italian league with the achievement.
Football pundits have tipped Argentine football legend Messi to win a record a record eighth title after captaining Argentina to World Cup glory in Qatar, this year.
The duo of Mbappe and Haaland are tipped as favourites to contest with the mercurial Messi for the solo prize.
Among the nominees for the award are five English Premier League stars in the persons of Liverpool’s most prized asset, Mohammed Salah, England skipper and new signing of Bundlesliga’s giants, Harry Kane, Bukayo Saka and his teammate Martin Odegaard and Haaland, the goal-scoring machine for the reigning Premier League Champions, Manchester City.
New Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana, who helped Inter to the Champions League final, is also among the nominees.
Men’s Ballon d’Or full list
Julian Alvarez
Nicolo Barella
Jude Bellingham
Karim Benzema
Yassine Bounou
Kevin De Bruyne
Ruben Dias
Ilkay Gundogan
Antoine Griezmann
Josko Gvardiol
Erling Haaland
Harry Kane
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia
Robert Lewandowski
Randal Kolo Muani
Emiliano Martinez
Lautaro Martinez
Kylian Mbappe
Lionel Messi
Kim Min-Kae
Luka Modric
Jamal Musiala
Martin Odegaard
Andre Onana
Victor Osimhen
Rodri
Bukayo Saka
Mohamed Salah
Bernardo Silva
Vinicius Jr
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