Lionel Messi has named a host of players that he thinks will be in and around the mix for the Ballon d’Or in the coming years.
The list was stacked with several electric names, with Jude Bellingham being a shocking absentee.
Lionel Messi has won the award the most – a record 8 different times in history, a feat he etched into the annals of time in October 2023.
Who are the players listed by Lionel Messi as possible winners of the Ballon d’Or in the coming years?
Messi finished above Erling Haaland of Manchester City and Paris Saint Germain’s Kylian Mbappe in the race for the individual honor in 2023 and he also believes these players can get their hands on the crown in the coming years.
Bellingham, who has been outstanding for Real Madrid since joining from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2023, didn’t get a mention whilst Lionel Messi reeled out some names.
Based on reports from L’Equipe, Messi said: “The players to compete for the Ballon d’Or in the coming years? There may be a very beautiful rivalry in the coming years with players like Haaland, Mbappe, Vinicius, and many young players competing for the Ballon d’Or.
Messi considers Lamine Yamal amongst players that can win the award
“I also think that Lamine Yamal, who is still very young and now plays for Barcelona, will play a prominent role and fight for it in the future too.”
The 36-year-old added that there will be other players vying for the honor, including new players, who will come out of the blues.
“Certainly there will be others competing for it, new players that we do not know will appear, because there are always new players, and I think it will be a very beautiful era to enjoy.”
Anyway, Jude Bellingham has scored 20 goals and provided 9 assists in 31 appearances for Real Madrid across all competitions.
The Englishman has been brilliant for Los Blancos, propelling them to the summit of the table, alongside contributing his quota in their progression to the last 8 of the UEFA Champions League.
Reports indicate that Bellingham is the bookies’ favorite to win the award due to his mesmeric displays thus far this term.
Additionally, if England go on and win the upcoming 2024 European Championship, that could make his route to winning a lot easier.
Recall UEFA and Ballon d’Or got into a partnership in November 2023, and this will see the European footballing body co-organizing the competition with France Football.
It will be fascinating to see how the award goes from here, having been hugged for nearly 2 decades by Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, with Luka Modric and Karim Benzema only coming into the mix in 2018 and 2022.
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are the players who have won the award the most – with the former winning it on 8 occasions as aforementioned while the latter has won it on 5 occasions.
