FOOTBALL
Ballon d’Or 2023: All you need to know about event date, venue, players nominated and more
The much-awaited Ballon d’Or 2023 awards ceremony is set to take place on Monday, October 30 as the football world eagerly anticipates the presentation of its most prestigious individual honour. Last year, Karim Benzema secured the Ballon d’Or trophy after leading Real Madrid to victories in the Champions League, La Liga, UEFA Super Cup, and Spanish Super Cup. In the women’s category, Alexia Putellas clinched the award for the second year in a row.
These annual awards, the Ballon d’Or and Ballon d’Or Féminin, have been presented by the French news magazine France Football since 1956. Argentine star footballer Lionel Messi, who boasts a record seven Ballon d’Or wins, is the frontrunner for this year’s award due to his exceptional performance in helping Argentina secure the FIFA World Cup in 2022. However, he faces strong competition from Erling Haaland of Manchester City and Kylian Mbappe of PSG. Aitana Bonmati is the top contender to win the Ballon d’Or Feminin for leading Spain to the World Cup and Barcelona to the Women’s Champion League.
The awards celebrate the outstanding performances of both male and female players in the previous season, and the winners are determined by a panel of 100 journalists representing FIFA’s top-ranked member nations. Each journalist selects their top five choices from a list of 30 players, and the players are assigned a certain number of votes based on their ranking. A higher ranking results in more votes for a player. The players who receive the most votes at the conclusion of the voting process are declared the winners of the awards.
Here are the Event details:
Date: October 30, 2023
Time: 11:30 P.M IST
Location: Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, France
Television Broadcast: The Ballon d’Or 2023 ceremony will be aired live on the Sony TEN 2 and Sony TEN 2 HD TV channels in India.
Online Streaming: The Ballon d’Or 2022 ceremony will be available for live streaming on the SonyLiv and JioTV app and website in India.
Nominees for Men’s Ballon d’Or 2023:
A total of 30 names have been chosen for the 2023 ceremony which are as follows:
- Lionel Messi – Inter Miami and Argentina
- Jamal Musiala – Bayern Munich and Germany
- Karim Benzema – Al Ittihad and France
- Josko Gvardiol – Manchester City and Croatia
- Mohamed Salah – Liverpool and Egypt
- Jude Bellingham – Real Madrid and England
- Bukayo Saka – Arsena and England
- Randal Kolo Muani – Paris Saint-Germain and France
- Kevin De Bruyne – Manchester City and Belgium
- Bernardo Silva – Manchester City and Portugal
- Emiliano Martínez – Aston Villa and Argentina
- Khvicha Kvaratskhelia – Napoli and Georgia
- Rúben Dias – Manchester City and Portugal
- Lautaro Martínez – Inter Milan and Argentina
- Antoine Griezmann – Atletico Madrid and France
- Robert Lewandowski – Barcelon and Poland
- Kylian Mbappé – Paris Saint-Germain and France
- Kim Min-Jae – Napoli and South Korea
- Victor Osimhen – Napoli and Nigeria
- Rodri – Manchester City and Spain
- Harry Kane – Bayern Munich and England
- Nicolo Barella – Inter Milan and Italy
- Erling Haaland – Manchester City and Norway
- Yassine Bounou – Al Hilal and Morocco
- Martin Ødegaard – Arsenal and Norway
- Julián Álvarez – Manchester City and Argentina
- Ilkay Gündogan – Barcelona and Germany
- Vinícius Júnior – Real Madrid and Brazil
- André Onana – Manchester United and Cameroon
- Luka Modric – Real Madrid and Croatia
Nominees for Women’s Ballon d’Or 2023:
- Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns)
- Hayley Raso (Manchester City and Real Madrid)
- Amanda Ilestedt (Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal)
- Georgia Stanway (Bayern Munich)
- Guro Reiten (Chelsea)
- Sam Kerr (Chelsea)
- Debinha (North Carlina Courage and Kansas City Current)
- Aitana Bonmati (Barcelona)
- Alexandra Popp (Vfl Wolfsburg)
- Yui Hasegawa (Manchester City)
- Jill Roord (Vfl Wolfsburg and Manchester City)
- Katie McCabe (Arsenal)
- Wendie Renard (Olympique Lyonnais)
- Asisat Oshoala (Barcelona)
- Mary Earps (Manchester United)
- Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw (Manchester City)
- Mapi Leon (Barcelona)
- Daphne Van Domselaar (Twente and Aston Villa)
- Lena Oberdorf (Vfl Wolfsburg)
- Hinata Miyazawa (MyNavi Sendai)
- Millie Bright (Chelsea)
- Salma Paralluelo (Barcelona)
- Olga Carmona (Real Madrid)
- Fridolina Rolfo (Barcelona)
- Rachel Daly (Aston Villa)
- Alba Redondo (Levante)
- Lina Caicedo (Real Madrid)
- Kadidiatou Diani (Paris Saint-Germain and Olympique Lyonnais)
- Patricia Guijarro (Barcelona)
- Ewa Pajor (Vfl Wolfsburg)
FOOTBALL
WATCH: Georgina Rodriguez makes huge claim on Cristiano Ronaldo’s retirement in Football
Georgina Rodriguez made a huge claim on the future of her husband and star player, Cristiano Ronaldo, in Football. In a brief interaction with a host recently, Rodriguez was asked about the time left for Cristiano to make an impact at the highest level. Georgina looked honest in her approach to the question of the host and claimed something the fans would not love to hear.
Georgina claimed that the Portugal star has maybe one year more from him at the highest level. She felt that Ronaldo might play two more years before retiring and not more than that. She was however not sure if he would play for just one or two years and added that the Al Nassr star could also play more than that.
Watch the video of Georgina Rodriguez here –
🚨🎙️| Georgina Rodriguez on Cristiano Ronaldo’s future at Paris Fashion Week yesterday:
“Cristiano one more year, then it’s over. Maybe two, I don’t know.”
(via @ArobaseGiovanny)pic.twitter.com/4dxw2j5DuC
— Pubity Sport (@pubitysport) March 3, 2024
“Cristiano one more year, then it’s over. Maybe two, I don’t know,” said Rodriguez in the little chat she had with the host. The video has gone viral on X and the fans have started sharing it on different platforms. Some of the fans feel that Georgina might be right, while others feel that she could be wrong, given the fitness and longevity of the star player.
Legacy of Cristiano Ronaldo
On the 5th of February, Ronaldo celebrated his 39th birthday. He is currently one of the oldest players in the world. In the past, players at this age would have retired way back. But the fitness and consistency of Ronaldo make him play the sport as long as he wishes. In his career so far, Ronaldo has won many major leagues for Portugal and league teams like Real Madrid, Al Nassr, and Manchester United.
With United, Portugal won some major leagues like the FA Cup and the Champions League. With Real Madrid, the 39-year-old won the leagues like the UCL, Copa Del Rey and La Liga. He won it three consecutive times for Real Madrid. For Portugal, Cristiano had a huge contribution to Portugal. He has the most number of appearances and goals for an international team and won the Euro 2016 with Portugal.
FOOTBALL
Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham slapped with Red Card as he argued with referee
England and Real Madrid player Jude Bellingham was slapped with a Red Card during the La Liga game against Valencia. In the game, the home team, Valencia was leading by 2-0 after 30 minutes before Madrid scored in the injury time of the first half. Vinicius Junior opened the scoring for Madrid while Hugo Duro (27′) and Roman Yaremchuk (30′) scored a goal each.
In the 76th minute, Junior scored an equalizer to keep the team in the game. However, in the injury time of the second half, Bellingham was given a red card as he argued with the referee against calling it a full-time before he could score. In reply, the match official decided to slap the England international with a Red Card. The team coach Carlo Ancelotti wasn’t happy with the verdict as the Three Lions player was making a pass at the time.
Jude Bellingham verbally abusing officials and other footballers at the slightest provocation needs to be talked about more. It’s embarrassing he gets applauded by Real Madrid Fans.
Mason Greenwood should’ve allowed La Liga to deal with this simp. pic.twitter.com/ixYSw6YxaC
— Herman Facundo© (@hermanfacundo_7) March 3, 2024
“I think what’s just happened is unprecedented. It’s never happened to me,” Ancelotti told reporters.
“We had possession of the ball and the match should have been finished when Valencia had the ball.
“What bothers us is the red card for Bellingham because he didn’t say anything insulting. He was frustrated of course,” said Ancelotti, adding that Bellingham had used a common English swearword when telling the referee it was a goal.
We are annoyed with Jude Bellingham’s Red Card: Carlo Ancelotti
“We were annoyed with Bellingham’s red card. He didn’t say any insults. He said in English ‘it’s a f—ing goal,’ but he was just saying what we were all thinking … [The referee] allowed play to continue. I think he made a mistake.”
“[Bellingham] was clear in what he said,” Ancelotti added. “He was quite vehement [in his reaction] but that’s normal, after what happened. It wasn’t an insult, not at all.”
FOOTBALL
PL 2023-24: MCFC vs MUFC Dream11 Prediction, Playing XI, Fantasy League Today’s Captain, Vice-Captain, and more for Manchester derby
Super Sunday is set to witness the Manchester Derby in the Premier League 2023-24. The match between Manchester City (MCFC) and Manchester United (MUFC) is set to take place in Etihad Stadium, the home ground of Manchester City. The two teams have had a contrasting journey in the league till now. The fortunes of City changed ever since Pep Guardiola took over the club as the manager.
While the home side are placed in the second position in the points table currently, United are in the sixth place in the points table. In their previous encounter, City hammered Luton Town by 6-2 in the FA Cup. United have shown massive improvements in the last few weeks after not having a good start to their campaign. United were involved in a thrilling game where they beat Nottingham Forrest by 1-0 in their last game.
Both teams feature some of the best players in the world. The likes of Julian Alvarez, Erling Haaland, Marcus Rashford, Kevin De Bruyne, Bruno Fernandes, Casemiro, and others would be taking part in the match. Manchester City will start the match as the favourites, given their record in the ongoing league so far and the match taking place in their home. United with their improved record can challenge the home side.
MCFC vs MUFC – Match Details
Match – Manchester City (MCFC) vs Manchester United (MUFC), Premier League 2023-24
Venue – Etihad Stadium, Manchester
Date and Time – 3rd March 2024, 21:00 IST
Live Coverage – Star Sports Network and Disney plus Hot Star
MCFC vs MUFC – Head-to-Head
Both the teams from Manchester have a rich history in the sport. they have been up against each other in 191 instances. In as many games, Manchester United have been historically the better side with 78 wins to their name. City have managed to win 60 wins, as 53 games ended in a draw. In the last five games between the two sides in the Premier League, City have won four of the five games.
MCFC vs MUFC – Likely XI
Manchester City: Ederson, Walker, Dias, Ake, Akanji, Rodri, De Bruyne, Silva, Alvarez, Haaland, Foden
Manchester United: Onana, Dalot, Varane, Lindelof, Amrabat, Casemiro, Manioo, McTominay, Fernandes, Rashford, Garnacho
MCFC vs MUFC – Fantasy XI
Grand League Team
Goal Keeper – E Moraes
Defenders – M Akanji, K Walker, H Maguire
Mid Fielders – Kevin De Bruyne, B Fernandes, R Hernandez, Casemiro
Forwards – E Haaland (VC), J Alvarez, M Rashford (C)
Head-to-Head Team
Goal Keeper – S Ortega
Defenders – M Akanji, K Walker, R Varane
Mid Fielders – K De Bruyne (C), B Fernandes (VC), B Silva, Casemiro
Forwards – E Haaland, J Alvarez, M Rashford
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