Munich players will not be attending the Ballon d'Or ceremony.
"Harry Kane, Kim Min-jae and Jamal Moussaoui will not be attending the Ballon d'Or ceremony in Paris," German media outlet Sport1 reported on Tuesday.
The Ballon d'Or, which is awarded annually to the world's best players, is about to begin. The ceremony will be held at the Théâtre du Chatelet in Paris, starting at 4:45 a.m. ET on Jan. 31.
"Bayern Munich trio Harry Kane, Jamal Musa and Kim Min-jae have been shortlisted for the 2023 Ballon d'Or alongside former Bundesliga stars such as Jude Bellingham and Elling Holland," the Bundesliga's official website reported on September 7.
France Football announced the list of 30 candidates for the 2023 Ballon d'Or on its official social media accounts on Sunday. The Ballon d'Or is considered the highest honor for a soccer player. Lionel Messi has won the award seven times, and in 2022, Son Heung-min was the highest ranked Asian player at No. 11.
The Ballon d'Or is a bad award for defenders. There are only a handful of defenders nominated for the award, so knowing the names of the defenders who have won the award in the last five seasons will give you an idea of how good Kim is.
In 2017, it was Ramos, Bonucci, and Hummels; in 2018, Ramos, Varane, and Godin; in 2019, Van Dijk, Coulibaly, Marquinhos, and Der Licht; in 2021, Dias, Chiellini, Bonucci, and Kijer; and in 2022, Van Dijk and Rudiger. If there are more than four, one will be selected, if there are fewer, one will be selected.
This season, Kim joined Dias and Gvardiol as the first Asian defender to be nominated for the Ballon d'Or. The last defender to win the Ballon d'Or was Fabio Cannavaro, who led Italy to the 2006 World Cup.
If Kim finishes in the top 10 of the Ballon d'Or, he will surpass Son Heung-min to become the highest-ranked Asian player in history, surpassing Son's 11th place finish. Kim has set many records for Napoli, including 토토사이트 winning the club's first Serie A title in 33 years, being the best defender in Serie A, and reaching the quarterfinals of the Champions League.
However, the Munich athletes will not be participating. All three were invited to the ceremony but will not be traveling to Paris due to fitness concerns. For now, Munich's next game is on Wednesday.
It seems unlikely that the Bavarians will win the Ballon d'Or. Several media outlets have already reported that Lionel Messi is the favorite to win the award.
At the very least, Musial can expect to win the Copa, a trophy awarded to the best Under-21 player, but the winner of the award is Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham, the media reported in unison.
