Ballon d'Or: Only three African players make final top 30 ranking as Messi wins award

Only three African players were included in this year's Ballon d'Or top 30 final power ranking as Argentina's Lionel Messi won the prestigious individual prize.

The three players are Nigeria's Victor Osimhen, Egypt's Mohamed Salah and Cameroon's Andre Onana.

The trio were included in the list following their brilliant performances for their respective club sides last season.

Osimhen, who currently plays for Napoli, led the team to win the Serie A title. He also won the Golden Boot for the top scorer award.

Salah, who plays for Liverpool, helped the team finish in the top five of the Premier League table last season with his goals and assists.

Onana, meanwhile, was brilliant for Inter Milan as he led them to the Champions League final where they lost 1-0 against Manchester City before he left the club in the summer to join Manchester United.

In the Ballon d'Or final top 30 ranking unveiled by France Football, Onana finished in 23rd position, Salah occupied 11th position, while Osimhen finished in 8th place.

We reported that France Football unveiled the 30-man rankings for the 2023 Ballon d' Or award on Monday night in Paris as Messi defeated the likes of Erling Haaland and Paris Saint-Germain's Kylian Mbappe to take home the award.

The Inter Miami captain occupied the first position in the ranking.