The world’s top player each year receives the Ballon d’Or. The trophy is composed of metal plates that have been coated in gold and is fairly hefty.
The front-runners for the 2023 trophy are Lionel Messi and Erling Haaland.
Since it is the only individual prize that elevates a player above the others for a specific season based on their achievements, the Ballon d’Or trophy has frequently sparked controversy.
On October 30 in Paris is the date of this year’s celebration, where it is generally predicted that Lionel Messi will win an unprecedented eighth championship. The two players he faces and defeated in the World Cup final are Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland.
Over the years, the process for selecting the winners has undergone several modifications. The event has expanded to include additional categories, but the prize itself has always been a golden ball, as its name implies.
According to Total Sportal, the trophy is worth about $2,920 USD on the market. The precise weight is unknown, however estimates ranging from 7 to 15 kg have been reported by various sources.
It has a 23-cm diameter and is 31 cm tall. It is constructed from curving brass plates that have been shaped like a ball. After that, a substance that resembles wax is put inside, and the outside is then covered in gold.
Mallerio dits Mellerm, a family renowned throughout Europe for their accomplishments in jewelry creation, worked on the first-ever design.
This award is among the few awards that has no monetary value associated with it. In actuality, none of the prior winners have received an award from the French magazine.
Similar to how Super Bowl halftime performers are not compensated, winning the Ballon d’Or has significant advantages.
For example, when Luka Modric broke the Messi-Cristiano Ronaldo duopoly in 2018, the Croatian received $780,000 USD from his boot sponsors, Nike, according to a story published in the Spanish publication El Confidencial.
According to the German publication Der Speigel, Ronaldo had a contract with Nike that guaranteed him a bonus of almost 3.9 million USD for each prize he won. The phenom from Portugal has five of them.
Since transferring to Major League Soccer, Messi has maintained relationships with Adidas and other prestigious companies, although it is uncertain if his sponsorship agreements include provisions for extra payments. He will be the first player to win the prize who isn’t based in Europe if he does it this year.
