There has been a lot of hype surrounding the Ballon d’Or awards set to take place this Monday. Reports suggest Lionel Messi will make history as he will lift the coveted title for the 8th time in his career. However, it seems like the French audience wants to see a different winner. Based on the numbers from a recent survey, French fans want to see Kylian Mbappe lift the title ahead of Lionel Messi and a 52-goal striker.
The Ballon d’Or award ceremony will be hosted by the French Football Association this Monday at the Theater du Chatelet. Messi is currently in pole position to win the award following his heroics in the World Cup last year. However, he will receive stiff competition from Erling Haaland, who had a record-breaking season after winning the treble with Manchester City.
In a surprising turn of events, PSG ace Kylian Mbappe has surpassed Lionel Messi and Erling Haaland as the potential winners for the 2023 Ballon d’Or. According to a survey conducted by Odoxa for Winamax and RTL, Mbappe is miles ahead of the other two soccer stars. French media outlet Foot Mercato published the data from the results that saw Kylian Mbappe bag 46% of the votes.
Lionel Messi, who is the front-runner for the award, received just 12% of the votes. Meanwhile, Erling Haaland finished second on the survey with 19% of the total votes, adding mystery to the final announcement. However, it is essential to note that they took the votes from fans across Paris. Kylian Mbappe has a fine reputation in his home country, and it seems valid that the French fans would vote for their star man.
Similarly, Lionel Messi left PSG with a bitter taste as fans criticized him for not lifting the Champions League. The survey also added that every one of four people in France believes the Ballon d’Or is the leading individual award in soccer.
The French Football Association is ready to take any necessary steps to make the upcoming Ballon d’Or ceremony a memorable event. The French FA posted a clip yesterday that saw Chelsea icon Didier Drogba talk about the event.