The 2024 Ballon d’Or – Nominees, Potential Winners, and more!

By Abhiram U. (7th Grade)

Date: Sep 20, 2024

With the 2024 Ballon d’Or winner ceremony taking place in around a month, what are your predictions for who will win the prestigious award? Do you even know what this famous trophy is? Continue reading to find out more about this amazing award that is awarded once a year!

Trophy

This trophy presented by France Football is the second best award a footballer can get, with it being awarded once a year. It has had many upsets, many well-deserved wins, and an amazing history over all. The winner of the Ballon d’Or is voted on by journalists, and this tends to anger some people, as journalists sometimes choose in a biased manner instead of going by facts. For example, some people are annoyed with the fact that Lionel Messi, a nine time winner from Argentina, gets to win so many awards in years that he wasn’t the best. People think that journalists are biased to Messi, who is considered to be the best of all time, even though his prime is long gone. Messi is right now playing in the MLS, a league in the United States that is not very good compared to the leagues in Europe. He is close to retirement, being 37 years old, and he still won the Ballon d’Or last year at 35 years old. Some people thought that he didn’t deserve the award in 2021, 2019, and 2010.

At the beginning of September, 30 nominees were voted for the Ballon d’Or. One of these 30 men will win the award in October. Many of these nominees had an extremely good season, scoring goals, winning awards, or just playing extremely good overall. However, some people believe that there are some players who deserve to be nominated, such as Mo Salah, Jamal Musiala, and Rodrygo Goes. Mo Salah had a spectacular season at Liverpool with 40+ goal contributions and a Carabao Cup. He also helped Liverpool reach the top 3 in the Premier League. Jamal Musiala had a fantastic run at the Euros this summer, and he continues to perform extremely well in Germany at such a young age. He is playing under a great team, Bayern Munich, that made it all the way into the semi-finals of the Champions League. Some people don’t think that Musiala got nominated because he didn’t play a big role in the important games of the Champions League, a very big tournament. Rodrygo Goes also had a great season, with the Brazilian winning the Champions League, the Spanish Super Cup, and even the La Liga title! Rodrygo also scored more than 20 goals and around 10 assists, which is a great tally for a 23 year-old. Rodrygo was most likely not nominated because of the fact that he was under the shadow of Vinicius Jr. and Jude Bellingham, both of who are favorites to win the Ballon d’Or.

Favorites?

Now, you may be wondering who else are the favorites to win the Ballon d’Or, so let us go explore that! The current favorites include Vini Jr., Jude Bellingham, and Rodri. Vini and Bellingham were essential for Real Madrid’s success this year, with Bellingham and Vini both reaching a staggering 35+ goals and assists in the 2023-24 season. Bellingham joined Real Madrid only last year, and he proved to everyone that he was a star right away. Vini has been in Real Madrid since 2018, following the departure of the famous Cristiano Ronaldo. Rodri is also believed to be a Ballon d’Or winner, as he has amazing stats for a central defensive midfielder. Rodri has also won several cups with Manchester City, including the league title. This summer, he won the Euros with Spain. Rodri has 22 goals and assists, and even though that isn’t as much as Bellingham or Vini, that is because they play more of an attacking role in their squads.

With the background of this award, the players who should have been nominated, and the favorites being covered, let us talk about some interesting facts about the Ballon d’Or. Earlier, I mentioned that this was the second best award a footballer could get. Can you guess why it isn’t the best? Well, it is obviously because there HAS to be a Super Ballon d’Or, right? There actually is a Super Ballon d’Or, which has been only given out once. The only winner of this magnificent award is Alfredo di Stefano, a Real Madrid player who won it in 1989. There is speculation that the award will be given in 2029, as it is awarded every 30 years. If this award is to be given, the top two contenders for it would be Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Both have had amazing careers and are considered to be the two greatest football players of all time, but currently, Messi is more likely to win it, considering how many Ballon d’Ors he has won. Messi has also proved to be excellent for Argentina, his national team, winning the World Cup and two Copa Américas. On the other hand, Ronaldo has only won a Nations League and a Euro in 2016. Ronaldo has scored more goals than Messi, though, reaching a record of 900+ goals in 2024. Ronaldo has also won more Champions League trophies, which are one of the best trophies a team could win. The debate between Messi and Ronaldo is very intense and hard to end. Another interesting fact about the Ballon d’Or and Messi and Ronaldo is that these two great players haven’t been nominated for the first time in 21 years! They have had such a long and successful career, that is sadly showing signs to end for both of them. Messi is now 37, while Ronaldo is a whopping 39 years old, and they are both in retirement leagues. Messi is playing in the United States, while Ronaldo is playing in Saudi Arabia.

Who will win?

Now that you have finished reading this article, you will know enough information about the Ballon d’Or to keep in touch with it for the next few years. Who do you think will win this year’s Ballon d’Or? I believe Vinicius will win, as he has played a large part for Real Madrid and I have really enjoyed his playstyle. Real Madrid is also my favorite club, and I think Vinicius played better than Bellingham for Madrid. Can you predict the next couple Ballon d’Or winners by following the statuses of current players around the world? Are you going to be ready for when the 2029 Super Ballon d’Or is given?