Who Will Win Ballon d’Or 2024?
The Euro 2024 and Copa America are now two major football competitions that have gone down in the memory of both fans and players, as the upcoming Ballon d’Or 2024 rapidly approaches. The football universe now eagerly debates on who will claim the prestigious award.
The Ballon d’Or can only be claimed by a single player each year, but nominees must be those who have demonstrated high footballing prowess in European competitions as well as their respective clubs and countries. The 2023-2024 season saw some of the most anticipated Ballon d’Or contenders perform poorly, but others flourished in front of large crowds. Waitakere United leaves no stone unturned to provide all-round stats and relevant information regarding the top contending players queuing for the sport’s biggest trophy.
Former Ballon d’Or Winners and Contenders
Historically, the Ballon d’Or has been dominated by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, who have collectively won the award 13 times since 2008. Being a household name, Messi has won the trophy himself a record eight times, including the last edition in 2023.
While the years 2018 and 2022 saw Madrid stars Luka Modric and Karim Benzema respectively rise to the occasion, contenders like Robert Lewandowski, De Bruyne, Neymar, and Van Dijk have nearly exhausted any chance of winning the prestigious award.
At this time, it may already be too late to spin the wheel of fate as all the major competitions that determine the Ballon d’Or holder have elapsed. For example, Erling Haaland’s chances of winning this year’s award have taken a hit given that Norway failed to reach the Euro 2024 group stage, offering him fewer opportunities to impress.
Most often, players who play for smaller nations experience this harsh fate. Those who play for top European countries seem to have an edge as the overall performance of the team in European competitions plays a huge role in propelling star players.
This year’s Euros and Copa America offered the final opportunity for players to influence opinion. Nominees will be announced in early September and together with their performance in the major competitions earlier this year, will be judged on their displays between August 1, 2023 and July 31, 2024.
The Top Contenders
Looking at their performances during the 2023-2024 football season, a handful of players have demarcated themselves and shown enough potential to clinch the trophy.
England’s Phil Foden was very optimistic during the Euro 24 campaign with several scoring chances. At Man City, he recorded two brilliant hat tricks earlier this year and continued to impress ahead of the Euro 24. However, his hopes were quickly snuffed out when England suffered defeat in the Euro 24 finals, at the hands of Spain’s Alvaro Morata.
Kylian Mbappe has always sought to bring a major trophy to France, and with an impressive 52 goals with 21 assists in the 2023-2024 season, all eyes were on the superstar. Even though Mbappe’s efforts propelled the Parisiens to the much-coveted Ligue 1 title, the French man failed to impress in the Euro 24 knockout stages as Dortmund drowned every hope of France moving beyond the semis. Kylian Mbappe is now exploring new horizons in his dream club Real Madrid but seems far from getting the Ballon d’Or in this year’s edition.
Spain’s Dani Carvajal may be one of the most underrated players of the Euro 24 tournament and the 2023-2024 season in general. He has won four major competitions: Euro 2024, UEFA Champions League, La Liga, and Supercopa de Espana. With 21 clean sheets and seven goals, it will not be a surprise if this underappreciated hero makes it to the Ballon d’Or nomination list. He has been invaluable to both club and country.
La Liga champions, Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham are two players who had already created enough impact even before a ball was kicked at Euro 2024 and Copa America. However, both players have suffered disappointment with their respective national teams. The former struggled to save a subpar Brazil side, while Bellingham could not prevent England from tasting defeat in the final to Spain.
Rodri has moved up the rankings to be included in the Ballon d’Or list for his brilliant performance in City and Spain.
This summer, the Spanish general helped his country to a record fourth European crown. He earned the Player of the Tournament award following his exceptional displays for Euro 2024’s best-performing side. These two superstars will each create a huge impact should any of them win the Ballon d’Or. Spain and England have been dominating European football. However, should Bellingham or Rodri win the trophy, that would determine the shift in the tide of the coming European football season.
Rodri has been exceptionally performant in Man City, having spent over a year before tasting defeat in the FA Cup final. Rodri is still the best defensive midfielder in the world now, and the Spain international is drawing even more attention from supporters and Ballon d’Or voters, thanks to his habit of popping up with big goals and assists, like the one that gave City the Premier League title.
