Ballon d'Or: Vinícius Jr. and Rodri Hernández, top favorites
The magazine 'France Football' made public the list of 30 candidates for the award, which will be presented in Paris (France) on October 28.
Rodri and Vinícius Jr.
The world of football now knows the 30 nominees for the Ballon d'Or, one of the highest honors in sport. Most notably, neither Leo Messi nor Cristiano Ronaldo are contenders this year after 21 years in which at least one of them was always awarded the prize, except for the 2018, 2020, and 2022 editions. The winner will be announced on October 28 at a ceremony held in Paris, France.
The France Football magazine, in charge of awarding the Ballon d'Or, published the names of the 30 candidates. By teams, Real Madrid dominates the list and, by nationalities, Spain and England.
- Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid / England).
- Hakan Çalhanoglu (Inter Milan / Turkey).
- Dani Carvajal (Real Madrid / Spain).
- Rúben Dias (Manchester City / Portugal).
- Artem Dovbyk (Girona-AS Roma / Ukraine).
- Phil Foden (Manchester City / England).
- Alejandro Grimaldo (Bayer Leverkusen / Spain).
- Erling Haaland (Manchester City / Norway).
- Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund-AS Roma / Germany).
- Harry Kane (Bayern Munich / England).
- Toni Kroos (Real Madrid-retired / Germany).
- Ademola Lookman (Atalanta / Nigeria).
- Emiliano Martínez (Aston Villa / Argentina).
- Lautaro Martínez (Inter Milan / Argentina).
- Kylian Mbappé (Paris Saint-Germain-Real Madrid / France).
- Martin Odegaard (Arsenal / Norway).
- Dani Olmo (RB Lepizig-FC Barcelona / Spain).
- Cole Palmer (Chelsea / England).
- Declan Rice (Arsenal / England).
- Rodri Hernández (Manchester City / Spain).
- Antonio Rüdiger (Real Madrid / Germany).
- Bukayo Saka (Arsenal / England).
- William Saliba (Arsenal / France).
- Federico Valverde (Real Madrid / Uruguay).
- Vinícius Júnior (Real Madrid / Brazil).
- Vitinha (Paris Saint-Germain / Portugal).
- Nico Williams (Athletic Bilbao / Spain).
- Florian Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen / Germany).
- Granit Xhaka (Bayer Leverkusen / Switzerland).
- Lamine Yamal (FC Barcelona / Spain).
Of these 30 players, fans and experts are clear about their top favorites. In that catalog appear the names of Vinícius Júnior, Bellingham and Kroos, who won the UEFA Champions League and La Liga with Real Madrid, and Rodri Hernández, Euro Cup winner with the Spanish national team. There is also that of Mbappé, who in recent years has been considered one of the main contenders season after season.
21 years on, no Cristiano Ronaldo or Leo Messi
It is already possible to say that a new era in soccer has begun. For the first time in 21 years, the two most prolific players in the world in the last two decades, Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, do not appear among the list of candidates.
Since Cristiano Ronaldo won his first Ballon d'Or in 2008, year after year the Portuguese and the Argentine were awarded the prize, with the exception of three seasons: in 2018 it was received by Croatian footballer Luka Modric; in 2020 it was not awarded due to the coronavirus pandemic and in 2022 the winner was French player Karim Benzema.
In total, Messi has won the Ballon d'Or eight times (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, 2019, 2021 and 2023), while Cristiano Ronaldo has won it five times (2008, 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017).
Best goalkeeper and best U21 player
On the sidelines of the Ballon d'Or, the jury made up of journalists from around the world will also have the responsibility of naming the best goalkeeper of last season, awarding him the Yashin Trophy:
- Diogo Costa (FC Porto / Portugal).
- Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain / Italy).
- Gregor Kobel (Borussia Dortmund / Switzerland).
- Andriy Lunin (Real Madrid / Ukraine).
- Mike Maignan (AC Milan / France).
- Giorgi Mamardashvili (Valencia / Georgia).
- Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa / Argentina).
- Unai Simon (Athletic Bilbao / Spain).
- Yann Sommer (Inter Milan / Switzerland).
- Ronwen Williams (Mamelodi Sundowns / South Africa).
Another award to be presented will be the Kopa Trophy, which will go to one of the following ten players:
- Pau Cubarsí (FC Barcelona / Spain).
- Alejandro Garnacho (Manchester United / Argentina).
- Arda Güler (Real Madrid / Turkey).
- Karim Konaté (RB Salzburg / Ivory Coast).
- Kobbie Mainoo (Manchester United / England).
- Joao Neves (SL Benfica-Paris Saint-Germain / Portugal).
- Savinho (Girona-Manchester City / Brazil).
- Mathys Tel (Bayern Munich / France).
- Lamine Yamal (FC Barcelona / Spain)
- Warren Zaïre-Emery (Paris Saint-Germain / France)
.
As for the Team of the Year, the following five clubs are the nominees:
- Borussia Dortmund (Germany).
- Girona (Spain).
- Bayer Leverkusen (Germany).
- Real Madrid (Spain).
- Manchester City (England).
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