Who’s going to win the 2024 Ballon D’or? Some of the top candidates are Rodri, Dani Carvajal, Vinicius Jr, Jude Bellingham, Kylian Mbappe, Harry Kane, Phil Foden, Erling Haaland, and Lamine Yamal. Rodri, Foden, and Haaland are all from Manchester City. Harry Kane is from Bayern Munich. Vinicius Jr, Carvajal, and Jude Bellingham are from Real Madrid. Lamine Yamal is the only Barcelona player who is just 17 years old and would be the youngest person to ever win the Ballon D’or. But some unexpected news came up on October 28, 2024.
According to ESPN, “Vinicius Jr. and his Real Madrid teammates will not travel to Paris for the Ballon D’or ceremony.” Real Madrid did not attend the ceremony because the script leaked on X, which was previously known as Twitter. So, Real Madrid, thinking that Vinicius Jr. had already won, felt no need to be present at the ceremony. But, aside from that, the man who won the Ballon D’or was not from Real Madrid.
His name is Rodrigo Hernández Cascante, also known as Rodri from Manchester City. He is a 28-year-old who’s playing for Manchester City, who got injured in the first two games of the Premier League. Rodri deserved the Ballon D’or because he played well for his national team, leading them to the Euros win. He has four Premier League titles, two League Cups, a Champions League, an FA Cup, a FIFA Club World Cup, a UEFA Super Cup, a Community Shield, and a UEFA Euro Trophy.
However, some complications came up after it was announced that Rodri won. People felt that Vinicius Jr. got robbed of the Ballon D’or even though Vini had an equal performance as Rodri. Rodri played great for the club and amazingly for the national team, leading to Spain’s Euros win.
Moving on from the men’s winner, the women’s winner is even more interesting. Aitana Bonmati won the Ballon D’or for the second consecutive year. She is 26 years old and plays for the women’s F.C Barcelona, scoring 3 goals and making 1 assist in only 10 games as a midfielder. Her main trophy wins are the FIFA Women’s World Cup, a three-time Supercopa Femenina winner, and a two-time UEFA Women’s Champions League winner.
All in all, the Ballon D’or is a very prestigious award, and it goes to the best players of the year, man and woman. Rodrigo Hernández Cascante, also known as Rodri, and Aitana Bonmati were the winners.
Sources:
https://www.espn.com/search/_/q/ballon%20dor
