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Victor Osimhen did not win the 2023 Ballon d'Or award despite his heroics and here are three reasons why
Lionel Messi emerged the winner of the 2023 Ballon d'Or award beating off stiff competition from Erling Haaland to claim his eighth crown.
Also in contention for the award was Nigeria's very own, Victor Osimhen who was ranked as the eighth-best player in the world for his efforts for Napoli in the 2022/23 season.
And while some people Osimhen's heroics during the period in consideration could have been enough to earn him the Ballon d'Or, here are three reasons he did not win it.
3 reasons why Victor Osimhen did not win the 2023 Ballon d'Or
1. Osimhen did not play at the World Cup
It is generally believed that Osimhen had a wonderful 2022/23 season with 26 goals scored in 32 games to help Napoli win Serie A for the first time in 33 years and also become the first African to win the top scorer award in Italy.
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And while all of that is true and a solid case in itself, Osimhen would most likely have finished higher in the Ballon d'Or rankings had he played at the World Cup.
Nigeria failed to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar after losing in the last qualifying round to Ghana 1-0 over two legs, both matches in which Osimhen featured.
That Mundial has been a big part of the voting process for this Ballon d'Or as it remains the biggest justification for Messi being named the best player in the world.
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If Osimhen had played at the World Cup, he would have a better case to go with his domestic prowess with Napoli similar to Julian Alvarez who finished seventh.
2. Napoli's Champions League failure
Osimhen played six Champions League games in 2022/23 and scored four goals which is a decent individual return but did not do much to help his case.
Napoli made it to the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time in their history only to capitulate against AC Milan when it appeared they had a clear path to the final.
16:00 - 17.03.2023
Napoli's UCL draw makes Osimhen the Ballon d'Or favourite
Victor Osimhen has a chance to stake a realistic claim for the 2023 Ballon d'Or with a deep run in the UEFA Champions League
Injuries prevented Osimhen from having the kind of Champions League campaign needed to make a Ballon d'Or charge as he missed four games.
Napoli were the best team in Serie A and they just so happened to have an Italian path to the Champions League final which would have happened had they beaten AC Milan then gone on to play Inter.
Osimhen scored important goals for Napoli with three in three knockout stage games, suggesting that he would have scored more in the semis and probably the final had Napoli made it all the way.
3. It is Lionel Messi's year
The third and final reason Victor Osimhen did not win the 2023 Ballon d'Or is also the most important reason, it is simply Lionel Messi's year.
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This is the same reason other way more qualified candidates like Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe did not win the award because nobody else could have won it.
In the same year Lionel Messi led Argentina to their first World Cup in 36 years as the best player at one of the best Mundials ever, there was only going to be one winner and he won it.
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