Ballon d’Or 2024 Power Rankings .. Foden’s brilliance and a serious decline for Mbappe and Salah!
The race for the 2024 Ballon d’Or continues. Who will be the real contender, and will Lionel Messi continue to dominate his favorite award?
Messi succeeded in winning his eighth Ballon d’Or for the year 2023, after his achievement in leading the Argentine national team to win the 2022 World Cup, and winning the French League title with Paris Saint-Germain.
Now, expectations have begun regarding the identity of the winner of the Ballon d’Or 2024. This edition will witness the participation of the best football players in international tournaments, including the European Championship and the Copa America in the summer. What is the extent of the impact of these competitions on the award and can we see the winner playing in a club outside Europe?
The “Yalla Shoot” website evaluates the performance of the competitors for the largest individual award in football and monitors the preliminary list in the 2024 Ballon d’Or race as follows:
20. Lionel Messi (Inter Miami)
In the 2023-24 season: He scored 18 goals and 8 assists and won the MLS Cup.
Messi became the first player playing outside Europe to win the Ballon d’Or in 2023, but he won the award for his performance last season in which he was a player for Paris Saint-Germain. Can he now win his ninth Ballon d’Or while outside the European leagues?
With the start of the American League season and the absence of Inter Miami from the playoffs, Messi will not be able to win any local titles during the voting period for the award, but if he leads Miami to the top of the Eastern Conference in the middle of next season and adds a new title for him with Argentina in the 2024 Copa America, he may compete strongly. He received the ninth award in his career.
19. Cristiano Ronaldo (Al Nasr)
In the 2023-24 season: He scored 38 goals and made 14 assists.
Many believe that Ronaldo is finished and will never win the Ballon d’Or again after missing out on the final 30-man roster for the first time since 2003, but the Portuguese star could compete for the award this season.
Ronaldo has proven that he cannot be stopped when it comes to goals and assists, and Al-Nasr faces a difficult task this season in the Saudi League, as they are 12 points behind Al-Hilal at the top of the competition, and they bid farewell to the AFC Champions League in a painful blow to the hopes of the Portuguese star.
The Portuguese national team is considered a strong candidate to win the 2024 European Championship, and if it wins the tournament, it will be a wonderful achievement for the five-time Ballon d’Or winner, and he may be crowned sixth.
18. Rodrygo (Real Madrid)
In the 2023-24 season: He scored 17 goals and made 8 assists and was crowned Spanish Super Champion.
Rodrigo has regained his level after his struggles at the beginning of the season, and if he can maintain this level throughout the season, he can lead Real Madrid to more titles, and he may be a star for Brazil in the Copa America this summer.
17. Lautaro Martinez (Inter)
In the 2023-24 season: He scored 27 goals and made 7 assists and won the Italian Super Cup.
Few strikers have had as good a start to the season as Martinez, who is averaging more than a goal per game in Serie A so far and sees Inter as strong favorites to win the Serie A title this year.
Martinez will participate again with Argentina in the Copa America tournament in the summer, and if he succeeds in continuing his brilliance, he will compete strongly for the award.
16. Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
In the 2023-24 season: He scored 5 goals, made 2 assists, and won the Carabao Cup title.
Van Dijk is still one of the best defenders in football, and his performance so far this season with Liverpool confirms this. The Dutch defender has been shining with Liverpool since the beginning of the season and led the team to win the Carabao Cup title, at the expense of Chelsea, after scoring the only goal of the match, but he has recently declined.
Van Dijk will also lead the Netherlands national team in the 2024 European Championship in the summer, and although the Dutch windmills are not favorites to win the tournament, if Van Dijk regains his level, he may lead them to compete strongly for the European title.
15. Declan Rice (Arsenal)
In the 2023-24 season: He scored 6 goals and made seven assists.
Rice sparked controversy because Arsenal paid £105 million to sign him from West Ham this summer, but any doubts about the deal have faded after his impressive start so far this season.
If Rice helped lead Arsenal to titles this season and played a major role in England’s success in the European Championship, his nomination for the Ballon d’Or would make sense.
14. Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
In 2023-24: He scored 11 goals and made 8 assists, and won the Club World Cup and the European Super Cup.
Bernardo shines in big matches, and will be a key element in Manchester City’s defense of its hotly contested English Premier League title this season, as well as in the Champions League.
The City star participated with Portugal in the qualifiers for the European Nations Cup 2024, and if he can lead his country to win the tournament, he will be a strong candidate in the Ballon d’Or race.
13. Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)
In the 2023-24 season: He scored 4 goals and made 14 assists.
Competing with Manchester City star De Bruyne for the 2024 Ballon d’Or award may seem difficult due to his absence for the entire first half of the season due to injury, but nothing is impossible for the City star.
The 32-year-old has appeared in a fantastic level since his return in January, and he will play a major role with Manchester City as they repeat their treble victory this season. He will lead the Belgium national team in the European Championship, and a lot is expected of him.
12. Julián Alvarez (Manchester City)
In the 2023-24 season: He scored 16 goals and made 13 assists and won the European Super Cup and the Club World Cup.
He is the most decorated player in the 2022-23 season after adding the World Cup to the treble he won with Manchester City, and Alvarez has become a regular player with Manchester City this season.
The Argentine striker is expected to increase his goals and assists from last season, and another successful season with City and participation in the Copa America with Argentina could see him move up from the seventh place he occupied in the 2023 Ballon d’Or voting.
11. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
In the 2023-24 season: He scored 28 goals and made 16 assists and won the Carabao Cup with Liverpool.
Mohamed Salah ranked 11th in the Ballon d’Or vote for the year 2023 due to Liverpool’s suffering last season, and his failure to participate this season in the Champions League may affect his final nomination. Also, his injury with the Egyptian national team and their failure in the African Championship will affect his ranking, and he has no choice but to win the title with Liverpool. English Premier League title.
The Egyptian star has performed poorly since his return from injury, and his ranking in the Ballon d’Or race has declined, and he may occupy a worse position than he occupied last year.
10. Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)
In the 2023-24 season: He scored 18 goals and made 14 assists.
And anyone who thought Arsenal might collapse after the disappointment of last season’s Premier League title race has been proven wrong so far this season, with Saka leading the team as they look to achieve the long-lost title and also strongly compete for the Champions League title.
The English winger also enjoyed a strong start to his Champions League career, as he led Arsenal to qualify for the quarter-finals and will participate with the Three Lions in the Euro Championship despite being only 22 years old.
The only thing that might prevent him from competing for the Ballon d’Or is fitness.
9. Florian Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen)
In the 2023-24 season: He scored 18 goals and made 20 assists, and was officially crowned the German League champion.
Bayer Leverkusen is providing the best performance among all teams so far this season and has not lost in 43 matches in all competitions so far. They succeeded in winning the German League title this season for the first time in their history, so attention was paid to the team’s stars in the Ballon d’Or race.
Currently, Florian Wirtz is considered the ideal candidate from the German team to break into the Ballon d’Or race, after his excellent performance since recovering from injury, and his price is likely to reach 100 million pounds sterling over the coming months, in addition to his primary role with the German national team in Euro 2024. .
8. Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid)
In the 2023-24 season: He scored 22 goals and made 10 assists.
Since the beginning of the 2022 World Cup, there has not been a player who has performed at a higher level than Griezmann, and he led Atletico Madrid to qualify for the quarter-finals of the Champions League. If he continues his brilliance and maintains his current level, he will be a strong competitor for the award.
Also, if he wins the Euros with the French national team this summer, he will compete strongly for the Ballon d’Or.
f he wins the Euros with the French national team this summer, he will compete strongly for the Ballon d’Or.
7. Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid)
In the 2023-24 season: He scored 18 goals and made 10 assists and won the Spanish Super Cup.
Due to the injury, Vinicius did not start the season with Real Madrid well, but the Brazilian star recently returned to perform at his best levels.
If Vinicius is able to continue his brilliance, he will have a great chance to win many awards this year, and he will be the real hero for Brazil in the Copa America after Neymar’s injury, and his success will push him to compete strongly for the 2024 award.
6. Harry Kane (Bayern Munich)
In the 2023-24 season: He scored 43 goals and 12 assists.
Despite Kane’s brilliance with Bayern Munich since the beginning of the season and his dream of winning his first title in his career and competing for the biggest individual awards in the world, the Bavarian giant is threatened not to win any championship this season after officially losing the German League title to Bayer Leverkusen, and he has a difficult confrontation ahead of him. In the quarter-finals of the Champions League against Arsenal.
The former Tottenham star made a great start in the German League, averaging more than a goal per match, but Bayern Munich’s faltering will affect his chances, but if he can maintain that level during the season and lead England to glory at Euro 2024, he will be a strong candidate to win the award. The golden ball.
5. Rodri (Manchester City)
In the 2023-24 season: He scored 10 goals and made 13 assists and won the European Super Cup and the Club World Cup.
Nothing illustrates Rodri’s importance to Manchester City more than the fact that when he was suspended for three matches this season, the Premier League champions lost all three matches.
Rodri, the best defensive midfielder in the world at the moment, and the fact that he has improved his goal scoring means he could be a strong contender for the award if his form continues this season.
4. Erling Haaland (Manchester City)
In the 2023-24 season: He scored 34 goals and 6 assists and won the European Super Cup and the Club World Cup.
Haaland could have done more to win the 2023 Ballon d’Or, but Messi prevailed in the end.
Haaland has returned strongly after being absent for a month from Manchester City due to injury, and if he leads City to achieve more titles, that will be enough to compete for the award in 2024, but his biggest crisis is the Norwegian national team after they failed to qualify for the 2024 European Nations Championship.
3. Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain)
In the 2023-24 season: He scored 45 goals and made 16 assists and won the French Super Cup.
Mbappe should be crowned with at least one Golden Ball after his wonderful career so far with the French national team and Paris Saint-Germain, and his future has finally been decided after he announced his departure from the French team at the end of the season and is scheduled to join Real Madrid in the summer.
Despite his departure from Paris at the end of the season, Mbappe continues to shine and score goals, and Paris is at the top of the French League so far and they have qualified for the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
In order for Mbappé to win the Ballon d’Or in 2024, he must continue to shine and lead France to win the Euro in the summer and achieve his dream and Paris’s dream of winning the Champions League title.
2. Phil Foden (Manchester City)
In the 2023-24 season: He scored 23 goals and made 10 assists and was crowned champion of the Club World Cup and the European Super Cup.
As a result of Kevin De Bruyne and Haaland’s absence from Manchester City for long periods this season due to injury, Foden stepped up and shone on his way to presenting his best season in his career so far.
Foden scored decisive goals for City since the beginning of the new year, helping the team regain the top spot in the English Premier League, and he scored a wonderful goal against Real Madrid in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
Foden has a great opportunity to start with the England national team in the 2024 European Championship this summer.
1. Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid)
In the 2023-24 season: He scored 22 goals and made 13 assists and was crowned Spanish Super Champion.
Bellingham was the best footballer in the first half of the current season, and he got off to a perfect start with Real Madrid. He scored frequently and also scored crucial goals, such as the brace that won the Clásico and against Girona, and led the Royal team to qualify for the round of 16 in the Champions League with a perfect record.
Bellingham then suffered a severe injury that kept him away from Real Madrid. He was also suspended and the team appeared weak without him. Bellingham did not take advantage of the opportunity to regain his level against Manchester City in the fiery confrontation in the Champions League quarter-finals. If Bellingham succeeds in leading his team to victory in the second leg, he will continue to lead the race. Ballon d’Or 2024.
The England national team is confident of winning the European Championship under the leadership of the Real Madrid star, and Bellingham will be the most suitable candidate to win the Ballon d’Or if he achieves this achievement with the Three Lions.
