Real Madrid legend Cristiano Ronaldo is the second most decorated individual in football, with five Ballon d’Ors to his name, second only to Lionel Messi’s eight in history. The Portuguese striker has named two Real Madrid players and one Barcelona talent amongst his four favourites to win the award in the coming years.
Ronaldo, 39, and Messi, 37, were left out of the shortlist for the award for the first time since 2003, and both are also number one and two for the award nominations, with Ronaldo racking up 18. Speaking to Rio Ferdinand on his YouTube channel, Ronaldo revealed that the players most likely to win the award in the coming years were Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham, Erling Haaland and Lamine Yamal. Ferdinand suggested Vinicius Junior too.
This year is perhaps the most open the award has been in some time. Manchester City midfielder Rodri Hernandez and Dani Carvajal were two of the stars of Spain’s Euro 2024 victory, while Mbappe is the biggest name. Carvajal would be the first defender to win in nearly 20 years after Fabio Cannavaro though. Vinicius and Bellingham were the stars of Real Madrid’s campaign, although neither were particularly impressive for their national sides.