Revisiting The Biggest Football Moments Of 2023

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The year 2023 in football had one of the toughest jobs: to live up to the sky-high standards set by 2022.

And with good reason, as the year 2022 gave us Lionel Messi as the World Cup winner, a dream run by Real Madrid in the Champions League, a crazy final day of the Premier League on top of an incredible World Cup which saw upsets and fairy tales such as the incredible run of the Moroccan football team.

The year 2023 blessed fans across the globe with many memorable moments in the world of football.

It was a year filled with incredible individual performances, thrilling matches, and historic achievements, making it a year that will be remembered for years to come.

From Nigeria’s Victor Osimhen’s remarkable feat and Lionel Messi’s world record eight Ballon d’Or to Ronaldo’s big-money Saudi move.

So, here are a few moments of 2023 in football:

1. Manchester City win the Champions League

Manchester City were finally crowned champions of Europe in June when they beat Inter Milan 1-0 in the Champions League final.

It was the trophy that had eluded City and their esteemed manager, Pep Guardiola, in his time with the club.

For the Spaniard, it was his third Champions League triumph after the two he claimed with Barcelona, but the wait to lead City to continental glory was becoming the elephant in the room.

The win secured the domestic treble for City as they won the Premier League for a third consecutive year. It also opened the door for City to challenge in two more competitions – the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup.

2. Nigeria’s Victor Osimhen led Napoli to Serie A victory

Nigerian striker, Victor Osimhen, led Napoli as they secured the Italian Serie A title after 33 years.

That marked Osimhen’s first club title in his professional career, as his contributions were of great importance to Napoli in the Serie A last season, having scored 26 goals in 32 appearances.

For the first time since 1990, Napoli became the champions of Italy after the elite Nigerian striker scored the equaliser, which secured their 1-1 draw against Udinese to win the title for the third time in their history. Prior to now, Napoli last won the title in the Diego Maradona-led teams in 1987 and 1990.

Osimehn ends the year after a remarkable feat as the Serie A striker of the 2022–23 season and the Italian Footballers’ Association Player of the Year (first African to achieve the feat), among others.

Victor Osimhen crowned his 2023 on Monday, 11th December 2023, when he was named CAF’s Player of the Year, beating Egypt’s Mohamed Salah and Morocco’s Archraf Hakimi to the prestigious award. Before now, the last Nigerian to win the award was Nwankwo Kanu in 1999. Osimehn broke a 24-year drought for Nigeria.

3. Lionel Messi wins his eighth (8th) Ballon d’Or

Lionel Messi was crowned the Ballon d’Or 2023 winner on October 30 at a ceremony in Paris, his eighth time winning the prestigious award.

In December 2022, Messi led Argentina to the 2022 World Cup victory in Qatar, the first time he had won the tournament, which ended a 36-year drought for La Albiceleste.

The 36-year-old scored twice in a nail-biting final against France in December, which ended 3-3 after extra time, and also scored in the penalty shoot-out, earning him player of the match honours.

Messi defeated Erling Haaland of Manchester City and Kylian Mbappe of Paris Saint-Germain, as well as 26 other nominations, to win the honour. His closest rival, Portuguese attacker, Cristiano Ronaldo, has five (5) Ballon d’Ors to his name.

4. Ronaldo moves to Saudi Arabia

Cristiano Ronaldo ended his European love affair when he switched from Manchester to Saudi Arabia.

From Sporting Lisbon to United, Real Madrid, Juventus and Old Trafford again, Ronaldo decided to take up the challenge of the Saudi Pro League with Al Nassr.

The Portuguese had been linked to a host of Europe’s top clubs when his exit from United became apparent after his 2022 reveal-all TV interview with Piers Morgan.

The transfer was made on the first day of the year, and it opened the door for a number of top names to follow suit.

According to multiple reports, the 38-year-old is being paid around $213 million (£173m) a year by Al Nassr.

Notably, only a portion of this is due to his actually playing football, with image rights and commercial deals reportedly accounting for more than half of his overall earnings while in Saudi Arabia.

Ronaldo’s move has inspired other notable world-class players to move to the Saudi Pro League in 2023 including Neymar Jr who moved to Al Hilal for £76.9m ($97.8m) in August 2023; Sadio Mane, who joined Ronaldo at Al Nassr for £24m ($30m) in August 2023; 2022 Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema, who moved to Al Ittihad on a free transfer in June; and former Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kante, who moved to Al Ittihad on a free transfer in June.

5. Erling Haaland destroys records left, right and centre

In the summer of 2022, Manchester City shelled out a fee of €60 million to sign Erling Haaalnd from Borussia Dortmund. And even before he kicked a ball, it was considered a brilliant deal for City. What followed made this brilliant deal perhaps the best in CIty’s history.

The Norwegian was a man on a mission who broke every Premier League scoring record. First, he became the fastest player to ten goals in Premier League history, a feat he achieved in six appearances. He then kept this pace and broke the record for the fastest 20 and 25 goals in the league.

He ended the season with 52 goals, the most by a player in the Premier League. Thirty-six of these goals came in the league, which was also a record. Haaland ended the season with three trophies, finally helping City complete their quest for a Champions League trophy.

6. Gareth Bale retires aged 33

The start of 2023 marked the end of an era for Wales as Gareth Bale announced his retirement from football aged 33.

He ended his career as Wales' most-capped male player and record men's goalscorer with 41 goals in 111 appearances.

Bale helped Real Madrid win three league titles and five Champions League titles - a number no other British player has matched - along with three Club World Cups, three Uefa Super Cups and a Spanish cup.

"I feel incredibly fortunate to have realised my dream of playing the sport I love," he said.

7. British transfer record broken

Argentine midfielder Enzo Fernandez was named Young Player of the Tournament at the Qatar World Cup, resulting in Chelsea making him the most expensive transfer to a British club ever just a month later.

The 22-year-old currently holds that title after a £107m transfer from Benfica at the end of the January window.

However, Fernandez may be passing that title over to team-mate Moises Caicedo shortly.

The Ecuadorian was involved in a transfer tussle between the Blues and Liverpool in August over a deal that could hit a record £115m.

Another huge transfer in the summer was Declan Rice's move across London from West Ham to Arsenal for a staggering £105m.

8. Kane overtakes Greaves' Spurs record before Bayern move

England captain Harry Kane's record-breaking career at Tottenham came to an end earlier this year when he joined German champions Bayern Munich in August.

In February, Kane scored his 267th goal for Spurs to move ahead of the great Jimmy Greaves to become Tottenham's all-time top scorer.

He didn't quite reach Alan Shearer's all-time Premier League record of 260 goals - falling 48 short.

Although, never say never. There's still time for Kane to return to the English top flight.

9. Man City charged by Premier League for multiple FFP breaches

Shockwaves were sent through English football when the Premier League charged Man City for breaches of Financial Fair Play rules.

The Premier League confirmed that City were alleged to have breached the rules 115 times between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons.

City, who are going for a record fourth Premier League title in a row, were also accused of failing to cooperate with the investigation.

Pep Guardiola's side didn't let the charges distract them as they matched Man United's 1999 side by winning the Treble.

City have vowed to fight the charges and clear their name with a date for the hearing set to be announced.

10. Scotland records historic win over Spain before reaching Euro 2024

In one of their biggest victories in recent history, Scotland were 2-0 winners over Spain in a Euro 2024 qualifying match at Hampden Park.

Manchester United's Scott McTominay was the hero for Steve Clarke's side with a goal after just seven minutes before netting again early in the second half.

Despite having just 25% possession, Scotland held on to a valuable three points in Glasgow.

Scotland's place at Euro 2024 in Germany was confirmed in October after finishing six points ahead of third-placed Norway.

11. Chelsea win fourth straight WSL title

Another season, another year of Chelsea dominating the Women's Super League.

Chelsea claimed their fourth straight league title with a victory over Reading on the final day of the season.

That was despite injury setbacks and illness to manager Emma Hayes, who called the season her "hardest yet".

Hayes has since announced she will leave the club at the end of the 2023-24 season. Can she end her time at Chelsea with a fifth WSL title in a row?

12. Daly wins Golden Boot on WSL return

After a decade of playing in America's NWSL, Rachel Daly surpassed all expectations after switching to the Women's Super League (WSL) with Aston Villa.

The 31-year-old had mainly played for England as a full-back, but she showed her quality as a striker for Villa.

Daly scored 22 goals in 22 WSL games to beat Manchester City's Khadija Shaw and Chelsea's Sam Kerr to the Golden Boot award.

Her goal on the final day of the season against Arsenal also saw her match Vivianne Miedema's record tally from 2018-19.

13. Celtic win record eighth domestic Treble

In Ange Postecoglou's last competitive game as Celtic boss, a record eighth domestic Treble was secured.

Celtic now hold the world record for the most domestic Trebles with the Australian becoming the fifth manager at Celtic Park to do so.

They beat Inverness 3-1 in the Scottish Cup final and a Kyogo Furuhashi double sealed a 2-1 win over rivals Rangers in the Scottish League Cup final.

Postecoglou's side finished seven points ahead of Rangers in the league table to secure the title with 99 points.