Man City striker Erling Haaland has made the list of 6 nominees for the Best Sports Athlete of 2023 award voted by the BBC.
This is an annual award organized by the BBC since 1960, to honor the best sports athletes each year. In this year’s poll, BBC announced a list of 6 nominees. Among them, the most notable highlight is the presence of Erling Haaland.
Haaland lost the race for the 2023 Golden Ball title to Lionel Messi. He only won the Silver Ball award. However, 2023 is a memorable year for the Norwegian striker. He has shown very impressive scoring form, being an important factor in helping Man City win the historic “treble”.
Until now, Haaland is still Man City’s number 1 striker in all competitions, and leads the Premier League 2023/24 top scorer list with 14 goals. In the Champions League, Haaland is also one of three players with 5 goals and shares the position of top scorer.
In addition to Haaland, another football player also nominated by the BBC is midfielder Aitana Bonmati of the Barca women’s team and the Spanish women’s team. In 2023, Bonmati won the Women’s World Cup and Champions League. With this achievement, she won the Golden Ball award for women voted by France Football.
Haaland and Bonmati will compete for the “Best Sportsperson of 2023” award with four other nominated names including Max Verstappen (Formula 1 racing), Siya Kolisi (rugby), Novak Djokovic (tennis) and Simone Biles (gymnastics).
In the past, there were 5 football players who won the BBC’s “Best Athlete of the Year” award, including Eusebio (1966), Pele (1970), “Alien” Ronaldo (2002), Cristiano Ronaldo (2002). 2014) and Lionel Messi (2022). The race for “Best Sportsman of the Year” is decided by votes on the BBC homepage. Voting results will be announced on December 19.