Ballon d’Or 2024 Power Rankings: Vini on Top
Real Madrid Players Dominate Top Five
First-Time Winner Expected
Given Real Madrid’s record-extending 15th Champions League triumph last weekend, a clear hierarchy has emerged in the Ballon d’Or 2024 power rankings.
The Ballon d’Or, which Lionel Messi won for an eighth time in 2023, is world soccer’s most prestigious individual honor. With the Euros and Copa America coming up, an incredible individual performance could still shift the balance of the Ballon d’Or race.
For now, Real Madrid players make up the bulk of the top five players most likely to win the award, though. We’ll cover the top candidates and speculate what some of the underdogs may have to do to be crowned the best soccer player in the world for the 2023-24 season.
1. 
Vinicius Jr. (Real Madrid)
Real Madrid winger Vinicius Jr. was the standout player of the Champions League. He caused all sorts of problems for Borussia Dortmund in the Final and scored the second goal of Real’s 2-0 victory.
Vini registered 10 goal contributions in as many matches in the UCL and also scored 15 goals en route to the La Liga title. Vinicius Jr’s stats this season show he led Real Madrid in scoring, in all competitions, with 24 goals. He’s also been backed to win the Ballon d’Or by his coach Carlo Ancelotti and is currently a -250 favorite to do so for the first time.
2. Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid)
Jude Bellingham’s trajectory to superstardom has been as rapid as it’s been impressive. Last year, with Borussia Dortmund, the English midfielder won the Kopa Award as the best Under-21 player in the world.
In 2023-24 he hit the ground running with Real Madrid and scored 19 La Liga goals.
Bellingham was recently named La Liga’s Most Valuable Player and if he leads England to their first ever European Championship, he could jump to first on the Ballon d’Or 2024 Power Rankings.
- Bellingham currently sits at +275 odds to win the Ballon d’Or.
3. Kylian Mbappe (PSG)
In some of the biggest soccer news of the transfer window, Kylian Mbappe is now a Real Madrid player. Still, his excellent season with PSG will be judged for Ballon d’Or purposes.
The French superstar was Ligue 1’s top scorer for a sixth straight season and won Ligue 1 and the Coupe de France with PSG.
Mbappe was also the Champions League’s joint-top scorer, along with Harry Kane. He scored 44 goals for PSG, in all competitions, averaging over a goal per 90 minutes.
If France win Euro 2024, which they very well could, expect Mbappe to be considered much more for the Ballon d’Or.
- Mbappe comes in at +900 odds to win the Ballon d’Or.
4. Harry Kane (Bayern Munich)
Harry Kane’s trophy curse continues, which certainly hinders his Ballon d’Or odds (+2000). However, the striker had the Bundesliga’s best-ever debut season, with 36 goals in 32 games. Kane scored as many goals as Mbappe in the Champions League and he’ll be captaining England at the Euros.
If Kane breaks his trophy curse as the Euro 2024 Golden Boot winner, he’ll certainly move up on this list.
5. Toni Kroos (Real Madrid)
Real Madrid legend Toni Kroos won the Champions League in his last-ever club match. It was the perfect way for Kroos, still one of the world’s top midfielders, to end his club career.
If Kroos (+900) wins this award, it’ll either be because he wins the Euros with Germany or the journalists look at his body of work over his production this season. Kroos won an incredible six Champions Leagues with Real Madrid and he provided an assist in this season’s UCL Final.
6. Phil Foden (Manchester City)
When Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne missed time due to injuries this season, Phil Foden stepped up. The English winger/attacking midfielder scored 19 goals and provided eight assists in the Premier League.
Man City won a record fourth straight EPL title and Foden was named the Premier League’s Player of the Season.
- He’s currently priced at +2200 odds to win the Ballon d’Or.
If England win the Euros it probably won’t be Foden that gets the bulk of the credit, though.
7. Rodri (Manchester City)
One could argue Rodri got robbed for the Ballon d’Or last year. The Spanish midfielder helped Man City win the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League and Spain win the UEFA Nations League.
However, he finished in fifth place in voting and he’s likely to be overlooked again.
Rodri was arguably Manchester City’s most important player this season but his contributions often don’t show up on the statsheet.
- So, +3000 odds seem about right for Rodri.
8. Florian Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen)
Bayer Leverkusen hasn’t won a domestic trophy since 1993. Florian Wirtz was the biggest standout player from one of the most incredible seasons for a single team.
Wirtz, the Bundesliga’s Player of the Season, helped Leverkusen go on a record 51 game unbeaten streak.
In all competitions, Wirtz scored 18 goals and provided 19 assists as Leverkusen completed their domestic campaign unbeaten.
Leverkusen won the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal but lost the Europa League Final, which could hinder Wirtz’s chances.
- The attacking midfielder shows +7000 odds to win the Ballon d’Or and a big performance at the Euros could shoot him up this list.
9. Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan)
Inter Milan cruised to the Serie A title in 2023-24 and Lautaro Martinez scored 24 goals along the way. The Argentine striker led Serie A in goals and also won the Supercoppa Italiana with Inter.
Martinez shows just +15000 odds to win the Ballon d’Or and a Serie A player hasn’t won since Kaka in 2007.
10. Erling Haaland (Manchester City)
Number 10 on our Ballon d’Or 2024 power rankings is Erling Haaland. Haaland finished in second place last season behind Lionel Messi and led the Premier League in scoring this season once again.
Man City likely wouldn’t have won the title without him but he didn’t reach the heights he did last season. He’s priced at +4000 odds to win the Ballon d’Or and most certainly won’t win as Norway didn’t qualify for the Euros.
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