Lionel Messi won the Ballon d’Or for a record eighth time in 2023. The legendary forward received the award off the back of an unforgettable year in which he finally won the World Cup with Argentina. Erling Haaland finished second but wasn’t able to win the accolade for the first time in his career, despite having won the treble with Manchester City.
At the age of 37 and now playing in Major League Soccer with Inter Miami, it currently seems that Messi is unlikely to add a ninth to his collection. So, for the first time in years, it appears the race is wide open for anyone to come in and claim the Ballon d’Or.
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In the past, the prestigous individual accolade was based on the performance of footballers across a calendar year. However, this time around – for the second time in the award’s history – the votes are based on the results of the season, meaning that in 2023, Messi won for his efforts – starting on August 1, 2022 and ending on July 31, 2023. We’ve listed the 20 most likely candidates for the 2024 Ballon d’Or based on how they’ve performed so far this year.
Ranking factors
We’ve determined the order based on the following:
- Goals scored
- Assists
- Clean sheets (if defensive-minded)
- Trophies won/challenging for
- Big moments in 2023-24 and in major international tournaments
- General form
| Ballon d’Or Power Rankings | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Player | Club | Country | Position |
| 1 | Vinicius Junior | Real Madrid | Brazil | Forward |
| 2 | Rodri | Manchester City | Spain | Midfielder |
| 3 | Jude Bellingham | Real Madrid | England | Midfielder |
| 4 | Lamine Yamal | Barcelona | Spain | Forward |
| 5 | Kylian Mbappe | Real Madrid | France | Forward |
| 6 | Dani Carvajal | Real Madrid | Spain | Defender |
| 7 | Lionel Messi | Inter Miami | Argentina | Forward |
| 8 | Lautaro Martinez | Inter | Argentina | Forward |
| 9 | Harry Kane | Bayern Munich | England | Forward |
| 10 | Phil Foden | Manchester City | England | Midfielder |
| 11 | Toni Kroos | Retired | Germany | Midfielder |
| 12 | Bukayo Saka | Arsenal | England | Forward |
| 13 | Declan Rice | Arsenal | England | Midfielder |
| 14 | Antonio Rudiger | Real Madrid | Germany | Defender |
| 15 | Eduardo Camavinga | Real Madrid | France | Midfielder |
| 16 | Erling Haaland | Manchester City | Norway | Forward |
| 17 | Florian Wirtz | Bayer Leverkusen | Germany | Midfielder |
| 18 | Granit Xhaka | Bayer Leverkusen | Switzerland | Midfielder |
| 19 | Emiliano Martinez | Aston Villa | Argentina | Goalkeeper |
| 20 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Al-Nassr | Portugal | Forward |
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