Socrates Award winner: Vinicius Junior

Follow live coverage of today’s ceremony as Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi claims the Ballon d’Or for the eighth time

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Socrates Award winner: Vinicius Junior

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The second prize tonight is the Socrates Award, named after the Brazil icon, which recognises a player's humanitarian work. This year's winner...

🏆 Vinicius Junior

He wins for the work of his foundation, Vini Jr Institute, which uses technology to educate underprivileged Brazilian children.

His annual investment in the foundation was 335,000 euros in 2022, more than 1 million in 2023 and in 2024 it is going to reach 2.5 million.

Tonight's co-host Didier Drogba also makes the point that the award is not just for his community work, but also for his fight against racism. Drogba then calls on more support for making a lasting change.

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Kopa Award winner: Jude Bellingham

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First up, we have Eden Hazard presenting the winner of the Kopa Trophy to the best young (under-21) player. Last year's winner was Barcelona's Gavi. This year's winner...

🏆 Jude Bellingham

He is a Real Madrid player now of course but, as with all the awards tonight, this is for his 2022-23 season and therefore applies to his work with Borussia Dortmund and England.

That said, the post-award interviews are focusing far more on his start to life in Madrid, which has essentially been phenomenal.

'Messi will win but Haaland deserves Ballon d'Or'

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We'd love to hear from you as the ceremony gets underway! Who do you predict will win and why? Email us at [email protected]

Here are the thoughts of reader Aaron W:

💬 "I believe that Messi will win the top prize but I won't agree with the decision. Haaland had the best season one could have at club level. He broke a 30-year-old record most said could never be broken, he won the treble and Europe's greatest prize as the focal point in a historic City squad. Finally, he posted nearly one goal per game.

"Messi is an unbelievable footballer and the World Cup is the cherry on top of an already brilliant career, but I believe we should make way for this new crop of stars and give Haaland the award he undoubtedly deserves."

An individual award that needs team success

While many players seemed to struggle to avoid caveats on their past successes, Ilkay Gundogan was clearly loving a little look back on his wonderful 2022-23 season - which included winning the treble with Manchester City and making the Ballon d'Or shortlist for the first time. Here's what he told TNT Sports:

💬 "I'm a very happy man. The last few months were great for me personally and for my family. Finishing the chapter at Manchester City with all the amazing memories, and now fulfilling a childhood dream to join Barca and hopefully also having a special year.

"This (award) also shows how successful you are as a team. The only way to be a nominee is when you're successful as a club. That's why football is a team sport and I'm proud Man City is represented with a lot of people today, and obviously a few people from Barca. Hopefully next year we can bring even more Barca players."

State of play

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Just to bring you up to speed, it looks like everyone of significance has now arrived at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, where the Eiffel Tower is sparkling in the distance and firing a beam of light in all directions across the French capital.

We are due to see the ceremony start at 8pm GMT, which is 4pm Eastern, and there are several awards to be presented.

Of course, those include the Ballon d'Or Feminin and Ballon d'Or.

And yes, my highlight so far is Vinicius Junior's stunning suit.

Grand Slams meet Ballon d'Or

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Tennis world No 1 Novak Djokovic was just interviewed on the Ballon d'Or red carpet. He spoke about watching and playing football growing up, and mentioned his father was a professional player for some time.

Asked when a Serbian player would win the award, he used the opportunity to laud the country's current generation, specifically complimenting Aleksandar Mitrović, Dušan Tadić and Sergej Milinković-Savić.

He concluded by expressing his hopes that they can do something "significant" at next year's European Championships, for which Serbia are in a strong position to qualify.

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Fine margins for Mbappe

Messi may be the favourite for the men's Ballon d'Or but the leading contender for the women's award is already in the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, after arriving amid the Barcelona delegation.

Following Messi is the arrival for PSG and France forward, Kylian Mbappe: a man who came within a few penalties of winning the World Cup for the second time.

Maybe another year, Kylian...

Messi has arrived; crowd volume rises

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There is little more to be said here. Messi and his family have arrived. Classic black suits and dress all round. The fade is sharp. The beard closely trimmed.

And it goes without saying, everyone is all smiles.

Well, maybe except his now-famous and fully focused bodyguard, who you can read all about with the link below.

Stoichkov knows just what this means

Anyone doubting the standing of this award should listen to Hristo Stoichkov. The Bulgaria striker was a Barcelona player when he won the Ballon d'Or in 1994. Tonight he is in Paris to see who will join him on the winners' list (or at least add another year beside their name, hey Leo). He told TNT Sports:

💬 "It was December 5 I came for this trophy, for me, for my family, for Bulgaria - it was very important. For the work, for the sacrifice... I never forget December 5. It was the best trophy for a player's career."

Real & 'future winner' Bellingham arrive

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Next to arrive are Real Madrid, with first Jude Bellingham in a large black suit and then Vinicius Junior shortly behind, in a wonderful black and orange velvet number.

Former England striker Gary Lineker had stopped on the red carpet to answer questions, one of which was who would win the Ballon d'Or in five years time. His answer? Jude Bellingham. That gave the same interviewer the chance to get a response from Bellingham...

💬 "It wasn't me, was it? Ah well. It's very nice of him. For me it's all about the team awards but yeah, it's definintely one you think about as a kid."

Throw ins his goosebumps at pulling on the Real shirt and it was a perfect snap interview.

Maradona's honourary Ballon d'Or

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Diego Maradona never won the Ballon d'Or as only players of European nationality were eligible to win the award during the large majority of his career.

However, he did receive an honourary award in 1995 that was named the Golden Ballon d'Or.

Not too bad and pretty well deserved!

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Barca in the house

The FC Barcelona Delegation are next to arrive - and it is SIZEABLE.

It also includes members of both the men's and women's team, who enjoyed a successful 2022-23 on numerous fronts.

Summer signing Ilkay Gundogan (ranked 14th in the 2023 Ballon d'Or) is among them, fresh from his pointed comments regarding the Barca dressing room's reaction to their Clasico defeat at the weekend.

Listening to the current players, you can hear how many of them struggle to reflect positively on their past achievements while disconnecting them to their current focus and search for wins.

'Haaland has been unstoppable this season'

We'd love to hear from you as the ceremony gets underway! Who do you predict will win and why? Email us at [email protected]

Here are a few of our readers' thoughts:

• Sydney Mathis: Lionel Messi will win the Ballon D’Or. He deserves it after leading Argentina to the World Cup, and after performing well in such rough conditions in Paris. As for the importance of the award, I think it’s more important for the fans than the players. The players should know their worth. The award is more for entertainment purposes and because we, as a society, feel the need to crown someone “the best” at any activity we have.
• AJ Castle: This is the hardest Ballon D'Or choice in a while for me. Messi getting the World Cup makes him seem like a shoo-in but MAN, Haaland has been unstoppable this season. Can't seem to make up my mind.

The treble winners arrive

The Manchester City contingent has arrived together, titled The Manchester City Delegation.

Erling Haaland, Julian Alvarez, Rodri and Bernando Silva all appear on the red carpet - as does Ederson who, as far as I know, didn't make the Ballon d'Or shortlist.

A few of them stopped to speak as well.

Just a quick note to say that the ceremony is due to start at 8pm GMT / 4pm Eastern.

Hazard is here for the kids

Former Chelsea, Belgium and Real Madrid forward Eden Hazard has just rocked up on the red carpet to talk briefing about his recent retirement from the professional game. Here's what he said via TNT Sports:

💬 "Life is perfect. I'm enjoying it, enjoying family and doing what I want... I have kids and they play; I watch football when I can. I can do other things too. At the moment I don't miss playing and that's good. Let's see in a few months."

But Hazard's best answer was to whether it felt important for him to come along to the ceremony tonight:

"The truth is my kids asked me if they could go. So I said OK, let's go. Let's spend a night in Paris together."

You've got to love that.

Martinez ready to enjoy a night of pride

Argentina and Aston Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez finished outside the top 10 in the Ballon d'Or voting. But he has arrived at the ceremony in Paris and is ready for a good night. Here's what he said on his arrival, via TNT Sports:

💬 "It's a great achievement for me to be in this kind of ceremony. It's a proud moment for me and my family, and I just want to enjoy it."

"What we did with the national team was really incredible and we're still achieving things, winning games with Argentina and Aston Villa. It's a proud moment for me and my country, and life moves also on."

Which all sounds suitably grounded to me.

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Remembering a former winner

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It was fewer than 10 days ago that the death of Sir Bobby Charlton was confirmed, and he left a remarkable legacy.

Among his achievements, Charlton became only the second Englishman to win the Ballon d'Or - then known as the European Footballer of the Year - in 1966.

He is one of only nine players to have won the World Cup, the Champions League and the Ballon d’Or.

We want to hear from you!

We'd love to know your thoughts on the Ballon d'Or! Who are you expecting to win? How much do you rate the importance of the award?

You can get in touch with us by emailing [email protected]

Include your name in your email and we may just include it in this blog!

MEN RANKINGS: from 11 to 15

We're getting close now... Here are the ones who just missed out on making the 2023 Ballon d'Or top 10. Poor guys. Some Premier League representation here too:

• 11: Mohamed Salah (Liverpool & Egypt)
• 12: Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona & Poland)
• 13: Yassine Bounou (Sevilla, Al Hilal & Morocco)
• 14: Ilkay Gundogan (Man City, Barcelona & Germany)
• 15: Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa & Argentina)

You can find the other rankings here: 16-20 / 21-25 / 26-30

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