The 2023 Ballon d'Or nominees were announced this week. We take a look at the brand battle for the 2023 Ballon d'Or, in cooperation with Football Boots DB.
There have been two major absences - Neymar (Puma) and Cristiano Ronaldo (Nike). For Nike, in contrast to Puma, they still have enough candidates left.
2023 Ballon d'Or - Battle of Brands
Adidas and Nike heavily dominate the list of 2023 Ballon d'Or nominees, with 16 and 11 players respectively. This means that 90% of all candidates are sponsored by the big two.
Adidas and Nike sponsor 90% of the nominees
Kolo Muani, who previously wore Nike, is on the verge of joining Adidas.
Only three players, Bukayo Saka of Arsenal (New Balance), Harry Kane of Bayern (Nike), and Antoine Griezmann of Atletico Madrid (Puma), are wearing brands other than Adidas or Nike.
All Nike Players Who Left Brand in 2023
For Puma, the nominees are not a good sign. They only have one player, despite signing expensive players like Neymar, Grealish, and Walker in the past few months and years.
Nike concentrate on the young, most marketable superstars
For Nike, it shows off that the Swoosh are still the leading brand, despite not extending deals with various top players. However, the Swoosh seem to concentrate on the biggest and most marketable players - they extended their deals with both Haaland and Vinicius Jr.
Men's Ballon d'Or 2023 Nominees - Boot Brands
- Josko Gvardiol (Manchester City) - Adidas
- Andre Onana (Manchester United) - Adidas
- Karim Benzema (Al Ittihad) - Adidas
- Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich) - Nike
- Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) - Adidas
- Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid) - Adidas
- Bukayo Saka (Arsenal) - New Balance
- Randal Kolo Muani (Paris Saint Germain) - Adidas
- Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City) - Nike
- Bernardo Silva (Manchester City) - Adidas
- Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Napoli) - Nike
- Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa) - Adidas
- Ruben Dias (Manchester City) - Nike
- Nicola Barella (Inter Milan) - Nike
- Erling Haaland (Manchester City) - Nike
- Yassine Bounou (Al Hilal) - Nike
- Martin Odegaard (Arsenal) - Nike
- Julian Alvarez (Manchester City) - Adidas
- Ilkay Gundogan (Barcelona) - Adidas
- Vinicius Jr (Real Madrid) - Nike
- Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona) - Nike
- Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid) - Puma
- Lautaro Martinez (Inter MIlan) - Nike
- Lionel Messi (Inter Miami) - Adidas
- Rodri (Manchester City) - Nike
- Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint German) - Nike
- Kim Min-Jae (Bayern Munich) - Nike
- Victor Osimhen (Napoli) - Nike
- Luka Modric (Real Madrid) - Nike
- Harry Kane (Bayern Munich) - Skechers
All in all, it's clear that Adidas and Nike are the dominant forces in the world of football boots, with 27 out of the 30 nominees wearing their boots.
Check out what the almost 2,000 players in the top leagues wear now on Football Boots DB
Do you think Messi (Adidas) will win the 2023 Ballon d'Or? Or will Haaland (Nike) win? Let us know in the comments below.