On Monday night, October 30, 2023, Nigerian football player Victor Osimhen, star of the Super Eagles, created history by being the first player from Napoli and Nigeria to rank in the top 10 of the Ballon d’Or rankings.
On the 2023 Ballon d’Or list, the striker from Edo is ranked as the eighth-best football player in the world.
With 26 goals in 32 appearances, the Nigerian international became the league’s top scorer for 2022–23 and helped Napoli win their first Serie A championship in thirty-three years.
Last season, Napoli also advanced to the quarterfinals of the Champions League, which was the greatest finish for the Partenopei in the top European competition.
Osimhen scored five goals in six Champions League matches during the previous campaign, and his individual accomplishments along with Napoli’s performance have secured the 24-year-old a place in the top 10 of this year’s Ballon d’Or.
In 1980, Ruud Krol finished in fifteenth place, which is the best finish a Napoli player has ever had in the history of the coveted trophy.
Julian Alvarez, Kevin de Bruyne, Erling Haaland, Lylian Mbappé, Leo Messi, Luka Modric, Rodri, Bernardo Silva, and Vini Jr. are the other players listed in the top 10.
In contrast, Inter stars Lautaro Martinez and Nicolò Barella finished 20th and 27th, respectively, and Osimhen’s teammate Khvicha Kvaratskhelia finished 17th.
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