A mixture of pictures exhibiting Cristiano Ronaldo (left) and Lionel Messi. — Reuters/Recordsdata
The 2024 Ballon d’Or ceremony, which might be held on Monday, is ready to remove the nervousness of followers world wide who’re eagerly ready to search out out the winner of probably the most prestgious award within the soccer world.
Nevertheless, this 12 months’s ceremony, which is able to start at 7pm (GMT) on the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, is barely totally different than the earlier ones.
This 12 months marks the primary time in 21 years that neither Portuguese soccer legend Cristiano Ronaldo nor Argentine soccer star Lionel Messi — who received the 2023 Ballon d’Or award — has been nominated within the males’s class for the award.
Moreover, with French footballer Karim Benzema and Croatian footballer Luka Modric additionally absent from the 30-man shortlist, a first-time winner is assured.
The Ballon d’Or winner is voted on by journalists from the highest 100 international locations within the Fifa rankings, not like different awards that depend on votes from present gamers.
Every journalist, one per nation, is requested to pick their 10 finest gamers so as, with factors attributed to every place. The winner is the participant who receives probably the most factors. However who will win it this 12 months?
In keeping with the Metro UK, Brazilian footballer Vinicius Jr is the frontrunner and is poised to develop into the primary recipient of the award to hail from Brazil since 2007.
Actual Madrid’s Vinicius Junior celebrates after the Champions League match in opposition to Borussia Dortmund at Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain on October 22, 2024. — Reuters
That is due to his pivotal position in Actual Madrid’s triumphs within the Champions League, La Liga, and the Spanish Tremendous Cup final season.
Moreover, his Actual Madrid teammate Jude Bellingham can be among the many high contenders, whereas Premier League star Rodri may emerge victorious if Vinicus fails t safe the award, Metro UK reported.
Along with the Ballon d’Or for finest males’s participant, the ‘Feminin Ballon d’Or’ can be awarded for one of the best feminine gamers.
Different awards embody the ‘Kopa Trophy’, given to one of the best males’s under-21 participant, the ‘Yashin Trophy’ for finest goalkeeper and the boys’s and ladies’s ‘Coach of the Yr Trophy’.
