Lionel Messi’s era of Ballon d’Or dominance is over.
The eight-time winner is seeing out the twilight years of his career at Inter Miami in MLS, while his biggest rival over the past two decades, Cristiano Ronaldo, is yet to achieve any kind of tangible success in Saudi Arabia.
Both legends will be lucky to even be in contention for the 2024 edition and the race for the next Ballon d’Or is an exciting one, with many players vying for the Golden Ball.
Below, FootballTransfers runs through the top five contenders for the 2024 Ballon d’Or…
Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid)
The favourite for this year’s award has to be English superstar Jude Bellingham, who has enjoyed an absolutely spectacular rise to fame. His trajectory only became steeper after leaving Borussia Dortmund for Real Madrid and the midfielder has gone from strength to strength in Spain.
After winning LaLiga, the Champions League and scoring a bucketload of goals, Bellingham helped England reach the final of Euro 2024, scoring twice in Germany, and will be a front runner for the award.
Rodri (Man City)
The impact of Rodri cannot be understated, with the defensive midfielder going on a run of 74 games without defeat in a Manchester City shirt, and he continued his fine form by leading Spain to the Euro 2024 title.
Rodri won the Golden Ball in Germany and, with City claiming yet another Premier League title, the Spaniard will be a leading contender for the Ballon d’Or as it stands.
Kylian Mbappe (PSG)
A domestic double winner with PSG, new Galactico Kylian Mbappe could yet make a very good case for himself despite failing to score from open play at Euro 2024.
The Frenchman had a ridiculous scoring record for the Parisians despite all the noise surrounding his move to Real Madrid and often being dropped or substituted after announcing his departure.
Florian Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen)
Another domestic double winner, Florian Wirtz dominated the Bundesliga with Bayer Leverkusen and came close to completing a treble, ultimately falling short in the Europa League final.
The German has the chance to star at Euro 2024 on home soil and a successful tournament could give him an outside chance to claim the Ballon d’Or.
Vinicius Jr (Real Madrid)
Real Madrid superstar Vinicius Jr made a very good case for himself with his end to the 2023/24 campaign. Thanks to a brace in the Champions League semi-final first leg and a goal in the final, the Brazilian overtook Jude Bellingham as Real Madrid’s top scorer.
The 23-year-old also notched 11 assists as Los Blancos won LaLiga and Europe’s premier competition. It is difficult to looks past his English teammate, but Vini Jr will be in contention for the 2024 Ballon d’Or.
