Jude Bellingham has finished 18th in the 2023 Men’s Ballon d’Or rankings, ahead of fellow England stars Bukayo Saka and Harry Kane.
2023 has been a banner year for Bellingham, with the 20-year-old announcing himself as one of the very best footballers in the world.
Following a few eye-catching World Cup outings at the end of 2022, Bellingham has gone from strength to strength throughout 2023, helping Borussia Dortmund to within a whisker of winning their first Bundesliga title in over a decade before earning a blockbuster move to Real Madrid.
Since making an £85m move to Madrid the 20-year-old has been the most in-form footballer in Europe. In his 13 games in all competitions, Bellingham has racked up a quite astonishing 13 goals and three assists and become a firm fan favourite at the newly-refurbished Santiago Bernabeu.
Bellingham enjoyed the best performance of his career to date in the weekend prior to the Ballon d’Or ceremony, bagging a stunning brace – including a 92nd minute winner – in Real Madrid’s 2-1 win over El Clasico rivals Barcelona on Saturday.
The England international’s best form perhaps came slightly too late in the Ballon d’Or voting cycle to break the top ten, but he is widely expected to be one of the favourites for the award this time next year.
Along with finishing 18th in the Ballon d’Or voting – upon his first nomination for the award – Bellingham is widely expected to scoop up the coveted 2023 Kopa Trophy in Paris on Monday evening.
The award is given out to the best performing footballer in the world that is under the age of 21, with rival Barca players Pedri and Gavi scooping up the award in 2022 and 2021.
READ MORE ON THE 2023 BALLON D’OR NOMINATIONS AND PREDICTED RANKINGS
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