When it comes to the Ballon d'Or award, Lionel Messi is head and shoulders above the rest.
The Barcelona legend is the only player in history to win the accolade on seven separate occasions, with no other footballer triumphing more than five times.
And the year of 2023 could see Messi further add to his record haul.
After Argentina's epic victory in the 2022 World Cup final over France, Messi has taken pole-position in the race for the next Ballon d'Or.
The 35-year-old scored seven goals at the Qatar edition of the tournament, including two in the final itself.
Due to his heroic efforts on the international stage, Messi was presented with the Golden Ball award before he lifted the Jules Rimet trophy at the Lusail Stadium.
So unless the Argentine fails to score or assist a single goal for the remainder of 2022/23 with Paris Saint-Germain, which is highly unlikely, a place on the Ballon d'Or podium beckons once again.
Following the World Cup final last Sunday, labelled by many as the greatest ever, the folks over at Goal have named and ranked the 20 players they believe are part of the race for the trophy - which is currently held by Real Madrid's Karim Benzema.
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND - JANUARY 12: The FIFA Ballon d'Or trophy on display during a press conference prior to the FIFA Ballon d'Or Gala 2014 at the Kongresshaus on January 12, 2015 in Zurich, Switzerland. (Photo by Philipp Schmidli/Getty Images)
And unsurprisingly, it's Messi who leads the way, with Benzema and five-time winner Cristiano Ronaldo nowhere to be seen...
The 20 favourites for the 2023 Ballon d'Or (20-11)
20. Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa & Argentina)
19. Achraf Hakimi (Paris Saint-Germain & Morocco)
18. Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur & England)
17. Luka Modric (Real Madrid & Croatia)
16. Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid & France)
15. Cody Gakpo (PSV Eindhoven & Holland)
14. Enzo Fernandez (Benfica & Argentina)
13. Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund & England)
12. Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich & Germany)
11. Bukayo Saka (Arsenal & England)
AL KHOR, QATAR - DECEMBER 04: Bukayo Saka of England applauds the fans as they are substituted off during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Round of 16 match between England and Senegal at Al Bayt Stadium on December 04, 2022 in Al Khor, Qatar. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
All the players above starred at the 2022 World Cup. Musiala was the only member of the 10 to not make it out of the group stage, but he was still electric in a fairly underwhelming Germany side.
Let's take a look at the rest of the list...
The 20 favourites for the 2023 Ballon d'Or (10-11)
10. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Napoli & Georgia)
9. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool & Egypt)
8. Julian Alvarez (Manchester City & Argentina)
7. Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City & Belgium)
6. Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid & Brazil)
5. Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona & Poland)
4. Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain & Brazil)
3. Erling Haaland (Manchester City & Norway)
2. Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain & France)
- Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain & Argentina)
BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA - DECEMBER 20: Lionel Messi holds the FIFA World Cup during the arrival of the Argentina men's national football team after winning the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 on December 20, 2022 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. (Photo by Marcelo Endelli/Getty Images)
If one of Messi or Mbappe don't win the 2023 Ballon d'Or after their World Cup exploits, it will be a seismic shock.
The top 10 features a number of players who didn't play at the tournament, though.
Kvaratskhelia, Salah and Haaland all missed out, while De Bruyne was a bit of a flop out in Qatar as Belgium were eliminated at the group stage.
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