Who will Win the 2024 Ballon D’Or?
Who will Win the 2024 Ballon D’Or?
What is the Ballon d’Or?
The Ballon d’Or is an annual award which is presented to an individual player who is deemed to have been the best-performing professional soccer player over the last twelve months. It is widely considered to be the most prestigious individual award for a professional player. It has taken place on an annual basis since 1956 and it can be awarded to any player in the world. Originally, only European players were eligible to win the Ballon d’Or, however, this was expanded in the mid-1990s to include any European-based player before finally becoming a global prize in 2007.
The panel of sports journalists make up the deciding vote, with one from each of the top 100 countries in the FIFA World Rankings sitting on the panel.
The award is given based on a player’s achievement throughout the entire football season as opposed to the calendar year. Blackpool’s Stanley Matthews was the first Ballon d’Or winner back in 1956 when he managed to beat off competition from Real Madrid’s Alfredo Di Stefano.
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Previous Ballon d’Or Winners
Lionel Messi holds the record for the most Ballon d’Or wins. The mercurial Argentine has picked up the award on eight occasions and was victorious in 2023 following his international exploits at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Cristiano Ronaldo is another frequent winner of the award and has been successful on five occasions. The Portuguese icon was last victorious in 2017, yet he also finished as a runner-up in both 2018 and 2019.
Other recent winners including Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema and Luka Modric. Other than Messi and Ronaldo, these two players are the only recipients of the award since 2007.
Previous Ballon d’Or winners are Kaka, Fabio Cannavaro and Ronaldinho and Pavel Nedved. There has been criticism of the award with suggestions that it tends to favour attacking players. Lev Yashin remains the only goalkeeper to have collected the award with the Russian national proving successful in 1963.
Michael Owen was the last English player to pick up the Ballon d’Or in 2001.
Michel Platini, Johan Cruyff and Marco Van Basten have each won the award on three separate occasions.
Argentina are the most successful country with eight Ballon d’Or wins. Lionel Messi is responsible for every single one of these successes.
Who is Likely to Win the 2024 Ballon d’Or?
Real Madrid winger Vinicius Junior is the odds-on favourite to collect the 2024 Ballon d’Or. He has shaken off his fitness issues to become one of the most dangerous and exciting players in the world. He helped guide Carlo Ancellotti’s side to La Liga success last season and he also lit up the Spanish Super Cup with an eye-catching hat-trick.
He helped to guide his side to Champions League success and was a key part of the side as they beat both Bayern Munich and Manchester City en-route to the final.
Manchester City midfielder Rodri hasn’t featured during the early stages on the 2024-25 campaign, however, the combative midfielder enjoyed a terrific Euro 2024 for eventual winners Spain. He was a vital cog for the Citizens last season with Pep’s men losing all three of the matches in which he was absent. Defensive midfielders are rarely in the spotlight, however, Rodri’s ability to break forward and chip in with goals makes him a standout candidate for the 2024 Ballon d’Or.
Vinicus Junior’s teammate Jude Bellingham is the third favourite for the award. He played an important role in England’s passage to the Euro 2024 final and scored a last-gasp stunner to save the Three Lions from a potential early exit. He grabbed 27 goals and 17 assists domestically and was a key part of a Champions League winning squad.
Lamine Yamal is one of the most exciting young players in world football and he came to prominence at Euro 2024. He has also been a key part of Barcelona’s brilliant start to the 2024-25 campaign.
Kylian Mbappe endured a disappointing Euro 2024, yet his domestic exploits have put him in the reckoning alongsing Lionel Messi, who is 14/1 to secure an unprecedented ninth success.