The Ballon d’Or is one of the most prestigious individual awards in football. For most footballers, it cements their place in football history. Others, on the other hand, see it as a bragging right. In recent months, spectators have had different opinions on who deserves the award.
Players who have performed exceptionally are usually nominated for this award. FIFA usually nominates players based on their performances in the club and national team. These nominations have sparked some debate on who deserves the award. This write-up is designed to discuss the five players who are top contenders to clinch the Ballon d’Or award.
Five Players Who Are Top Contenders To Clinch The Ballon d’Or Award
Here are the top contenders to win the Ballon d’Or 2024:
Vinicius Jr.
Vinicius Jr is one of the top contenders for the Ballon d’Or 2024. He was one of the performing players in Laliga last season. He started the season on an impressive note. Recall, he scored a hat trick against bitter rivals, Barcelona during the season. Vinicius also came clutch for Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League season. As a result, Real Madrid clinched the Champions League last season.
Vinicius also helped Real Madrid become League Champions. He contributed 15 goals in Laliga last season. He also had 5 assists in the league. Despite his performance in Spain, he did not translate this in the Copa America in the USA. Although, Vinicius scored two goals in the Copa America campaign. This was not enough to guarantee them a pass to the quarter-finals of the competition. All in all, his performance during the 2023/24 season was above average. Therefore, he stands a chance at winning the Ballon d’Or 2024.
Lautaro Martinez
We may have just witnessed Lautaro Martinez’s best season yet in Europe. Lautaro Martinez scored a total of 26 goals for Inter Milan. He helped the Nerazzurris clinch the League last season. Also, he contributed immensely by winning the Supercoppa Italiana for Inter. Lautaro was also honoured for being the top scorer of the league. He won the award ahead of Vlahovic, Giroud and Victor Osimhen. Lautaro won the award by a margin of eight goals ahead of second place, Vlahovic. However, the Nerazzurris did not have a fruitful campaign in the UEFA Champions League.
Lautaro Martinez also had a great Copa America campaign. He won the Copa America Golden Boot by scoring five goals. Martinez also played a key role by scoring most of Argentina’s goals during the campaign. He also won the Copa America trophy in July 2024. This took his trophy collection for the season to three. All this points to the fact that Lautaro is a strong contender for the Ballon d’Or 2024.
Dani Carvajal
Real Madrid’s success wouldn’t have been fruitful without Dani Carvajal. Dani Carvajal plays in a right-back position for Real Madrid. Dani played a pivotal role by creating goal-scoring chances for the club. Dani scored 5 goals for Real Madrid across all competitions. Most of these goals came either Real Madrid were losing. Dani Carvajal had 4 assists with Real Madrid last season too.
He also continued his impressive form in Euro 2022. Dani Carvajal made a massive contribution to the Spain side that won the competition. He scored one goal and has a pass completion rate of 91.6%. Dani was one of the indispensable players from the Spanish side. He made 6 crucial tackles to prevent goal-scoring chances. In the end, Spain was crowned champions of the Champions.
This made his chances for the Ballon d’Or even higher. In the 2023/24 season, he won the La Liga, UEFA Champions League and the Euro 2024. Defenders are not usually favourites for this award. However, Dani Carvajal could be the first defender to win the Ballon d’Or in a long time.
Jude Bellingham
Real Madrid’s success would not have been complete if not for Jude Bellingham. Jude Bellingham was one of Real Madrid’s most important players in 2024. He played the majority of the matches for the club. As a midfielder, Jude was the highest goal scorer for Real across all competitions.
He scored a total of 23 goals for Real Madrid. 19 of which came in the League. One of the highlights of his performance came against rival, Barcelona. His quality at the Camp Nou and Bernabeu were displayed and that decided the league standings.
The Euro 2024 had England struggling for points in the group stages. However, Jude scored England’s first goal in the competition. He also scored a decisive goal in extra time against Slovakia to advance to the semi-final. Jude was the most impressive player in the English National team.
Although he did not win the Euro 2024 final, he was one of the highly-rated English players. This left him with only three trophies in the 2023/24 season. These trophies consist of the UEFA Champions League, La Liga and Supercopa de Espana. These trophy collections last season gives Jude an edge over others in the Ballon d’Or ranking.
Rodri
One of the outstanding players in Manchester City is Rodri. Rodri is one of the key ingredients in Pep Guardiola‘s style of play. The 2023/24 was one of the best seasons for the Spaniard. At the start of the season, Manchester City were crowned as Club World Cup champions. He also won the Premier League last season. Rodri plays in a deep position for Manchester City. He still managed to score 12 goals and created 15 assists for his teammates.
Rodri was also among the leaders in the national team. He was seen multiple times giving instructions to his teammates. Rodri won his first-ever Euro 2024 last season. Additionally, he was crowned as the best player in the competition. Rodri played a part in the qualifying stage of the Euro 2024. The success in the 2023-24 season put Rodri in a favourable position to win the Ballon d’Or.
Conclusion
Any player in this list who eventually wins the award deserves it. This is because they have impressed both the national team and club team. Some of them have gone as far as winning competitions they played in. It is left for the organizers of the Ballon d’Or award to select a fitting winner for this award.
