Victor Osimhen of Nigeria was placed eighth in the 2023 Ballon d’Or award, which was presented on Monday night in Paris, France.
He thus becomes the first Nigerian to make the top ten of the Ballon d’Or.
Victor Osimhen becomes the first ever Nigerian player to make the top ten of the Ballon d’Or #ballondor pic.twitter.com/oaKsOQ34yH
— ?? Super Eagles (@NGSuperEagles) October 30, 2023
The Napoli forward became one of the few Nigerians to be nominated for the Ballon d’Or and went a step further by making the top ten.
Ranked at the 8th place for the 2023 Men’s Ballon d’Or!@victorosimhen9@sscnapoli@NGSuperEagles#ballondor pic.twitter.com/3wt1DoCSta
— Ballon d’Or #ballondor (@ballondor) October 30, 2023
Osimhen was in impressive form for the Italian side as they clinched the Serie A title for the first time in 33 years. He won the Pichichi – the highest goalscorer prize – last season as the Naples team emerged winners of the league.
The 24-year-old scored 26 goals to become the first African to win the prize. Osimhen was the highest-ranked player from the continent at this year’s award. The closest is Liverpool and Egyptian forward Mohamed Salah who was ranked eleventh.