Ballon d’Or: I’ll give it to him – Silva names favourite player to win award this year

Manchester City attacking midfielder, Bernardo Silva, has named Paris Saint-Germain’s Lionel Messi as the current favourite to win the 2023 Ballon d’Or.

Silva said that he would give the Ballon d’Or to Messi, adding that the likes of Manchester City’s Erling Haaland and Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior would be in contention for the individual award if they win the Champions League.

“If [Eriling] Haaland wins the league and the Champions League, you can put him in the Ballon d’Or discussion, and you can also talk about Vinicius Jr,” Silva told L’Equipe.

“If Madrid win the Champions League, but in general, it is between [Lionel] Messi and the winner of the champions, and so far, I will give it to Messi.”

Messi won the 2022 FIFA World Cup with Argentina last December.

The former Barcelona captain also won the Golden Ball award for the best player of the tournament