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Former France and PSG women's defender Laure Boulleau has made her pick between Lionel Messi, Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe for the 2023 Ballon d'Or award.
The 2023 edition of the prestigious award will be announced by France Football at the magnificent Theatre du Chatelet in Paris on October 30. Messi, Haaland and Mbappe are three of the strongest contenders for the award.
Boulleau, 36, said that Haaland is the most likely to win the accolade, ahead of Messi and Mbappe. She told The Team (as per French Football Weekly):
“I will say Haaland, Messi and Mbappe," before adding "Haaland in one."
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The Ballon d’Or is chosen by 100 journalists from the 100 top FIFA nations, who are invited to select their five best players from a 30-man shortlist. The choices are ranked, with six points for the first choice, four for the second, three for the third, two for the fourth and one for the fifth.
The player with the most cumulative points wins the award. Lionel Messi is chasing a record-extending eighth Ballon d'Or while both Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe are pursuing their first.
How Lionel Messi, Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe fared last season?
Lionel Messi had a rather lukewarm 2022-23 season with PSG - bagging 21 goals and 20 assists in 41 games across competitions. The Parisians won a second straight league title but went out in the UEFA Champions League for the second straight year in the Round of 16.
The Argentine superstar, though, led from the front in Argentina's victorious FIFA World Cup 2022 campaign in Qatar. He bagged seven goals and three assists in seven games, scoring in each knockout game - including a brace in the final - as La Albiceleste ended their 36-year title drought in the competition.
Lionel Messi has hit the ground running at MLS side Inter Miami, whom he joined in the summer on a free transfer. The 36-year-old has bagged 11 goals and five assists in 12 games across competitions. He helped them win their maiden trophy - Leagues Cup - took them to the US Open Cup final and lifted them off the MLS Eastern Conference and into contention for an unlikely playoff berth,
Meanwhile, Erling Haaland had a season for the ages in his first canpaign in English football. Since arriving from Borussia Dortmund last summer, the Norwegian plundered 52 goals in 53 games across competitions as City became the second English side to win the continental treble. That tally included a record 36 goals in the Premeir League, the most in one season in the competition.
The 23-year-old has also started the new season on fire, bagging eight goals and two assists in nine games across competitions.
Kylian Mbappe also enjoyed a strong 2022-23 season with PSG, bagging 41 goals and 10 assists in 43 games across competitions. He won the Ligue 1 title but failed to tke the Parisians beyond the Champions League Round of 16.
Mbappe, like Messi, had a fabulous FIFA World Cup 2022 campaign in Qatar. He scored a tournament-leading eight goals and two assists as holders France fell narrowly short of winning back-to-back titles, losing to Argentina on penalties in the final.
The 24-year-old has also started the new season well, bagging eight goals in seven games across competitions.
