The Ballon d’Or is the most prestigious player award you can get. Several of the best football players of all time have won the Ballon d’Or, and this trend will continue to grow over time. With Messi and Ronaldo both not being at the centre stage anymore, a new group of players can start to go for the award.
As the season gets nearer to its end, it is a good time to look at who could potentially win it this year.
Jude Bellingham
After getting a big-money move to arguably the biggest club in the world, all eyes were on Bellingham to perform, and he rose to the occasion. Playing in a newer role for Real Madrid, he quickly became their leading goal scorer, and even though he has had a slight decline in recent months due to injuries and suspensions, it has still been a fantastic season, with Real Madrid the favourites to win the league and always going far in the Champions League and Euros at the end of the season. It could be a very pivotal year and make him the first English winner since Michael Owen in 2001.
Rodri
With Manchester City being such a star-studded squad, it shows how important Rodri is when he is without a doubt their most important player. When Rodri plays, City have not lost in over a year, a new English football record, and when he misses a game, they lose or drop points. This shows his importance to the team and proves that if he doesn’t play, they will not win anything. With Rodri in the team, most bookies offering UK sports betting online have Man City as a favourite for the Champions League, and we do not doubt that if he performs to the top of his game and Man City win the Champions League, then he could easily win the Ballon d’Or, but City still have players like Haaland.
Erling Haaland
Some say he was hard done by not winning the award last year., but some say he should not have won it. It was a split decision, and ultimately, Messi won it, but that doesn’t mean we should ignore the season he had. Although this season he has not been up to his ridiculous standards, he has still been very, very good. Playing for Manchester City will always increase his chances of winning awards and trophies because they are the best team in the world. So if Haaland carries on scoring at a high rate and City wins some trophies, we could see him get the award he deserved last year. One of the biggest factors for Haaland’s success is his diet, he has mentioned how important his food is to his playstyle and how long it will continue.
Harry Kane
After sealing the big move away from Tottenham, Kane was moving from a team that is renowned for failing to secure trophies to a team that constantly wins their league. It seemed that the stars were finally aligned and Kane would finally get his trophy, but things have not gone according to plan for him as they have lost track in the league and been knocked out of the two domestic trophies. The Champions League and the Euros are his last hope for silverware. Even though statistically he is so good, you will not win the Ballon d’Or without trophies.
Who else?
The four we shortlisted here are just a short list of several players who could win the award. Players like Kylian Mbappe, Phil Foden, and Declan Rice are all very hard-pressed to miss out on this, but we just believe that these players are more deserving of the list. There is still a long way to go until the shortlist is out, but we believe, as of right now, Bellingham and Rodri should be the favourites, and if either one of them wins, we would have no issues with it.
