2024 Ballon d'Or awards: Who will be crowned the world's best players?

euronews (in English)

Football’s most prestigious individual honour will be awarded this weekend, with the best men’s and women’s player of this past year announced.

Transcript

00:00It's award season again in the world of football.

00:03The 2024 Ballon d'Or ceremony is almost upon us.

00:07Lionel Messi and Aitana Bonmati are the current holders.

00:10So let's take a look at who could be crowned

00:12the world's best player this year.

00:19Hello and welcome to Football Now.

00:21The Théâtre du Chalet in Paris will play host

00:24to the 68th edition of the Ballon d'Or Awards,

00:27where one male and female player

00:29will be crowned the best footballers in the world for 2024.

00:33A panel of journalists from FIFA's top-ranked nations

00:35have already cast their votes ahead of the ceremony,

00:38but what do they take into consideration

00:40when making that all-important decision?

00:43There are a list of criteria that are laid out

00:45that you have to look at.

00:46Obviously, the number one thing

00:48is individual performance, of course,

00:49and you weight them based on competitions.

00:53I mean, how you perform domestically is very important,

00:55but the Champions League's massive, of course.

00:57How you perform at the highest level of club football,

01:00the Champions League, and then when there are

01:01major international tournaments,

01:03the World Cup, the Euros, Asian Cup, Copa America,

01:06they get weighted significantly as well, as they should.

01:09I mean, that's a massive stage, there's lots of pressure.

01:12Yes, they might be less games

01:13than, say, the Champions League or your domestic league,

01:16but that is a big stage.

01:18You do put a lot of weights on those tournaments

01:20and how players perform on them,

01:22and I guess it just becomes a subjective thing

01:24where you weigh that all up together

01:26and come up with your rankings.

01:28Let's talk about some of the players nominated then,

01:30and leading the way in the women's category,

01:32much like last year,

01:33is Spain international Aitana Bonmati.

01:36She's a World Cup winner,

01:37she's a five-time Liga F champion,

01:40and now she's also a three-times Champions League winner.

01:43It's been an incredible year,

01:45and we asked her just what it means

01:46to be back on the list of nominations.

01:49For me, it's an honour to be nominated for the Ballon d'Or again.

01:52It's always special to be a part of this gala,

01:57this event, because it's where the great football players are.

02:04That means we've done things very well as a team.

02:07We've won four titles with Barça,

02:10and I and my team-mates deserve to be there.

02:14Bonmati's Barcelona won the Liga F

02:16and Women's Champions League double in May,

02:19so it's no surprise to see seven of their players on the list,

02:22including the likes of Salma Paraloello,

02:24Lucy Bronze and Alexia Pateas.

02:27Yes, a lot of the players are my team-mates.

02:31As she said, I think we've done a great job as a team,

02:34as a collective,

02:35and the fact that there are so many Barça players

02:38means that we've done things very well as a team

02:41and that we've won great things, like the Champions League.

02:45Elsewhere, as usual, the USA also have a strong presence,

02:49encouraged by their gold medal success at Paris 2024 in the summer.

02:53Sophia Smith, Mallory Swanson and Lindsay Horan

02:56are all among the strong American nominees.

02:59The Women's Super League is well-represented too,

03:01with four players for reigning champions Chelsea.

03:04But Bonmati is still highly favoured

03:06to pick up her second consecutive award.

03:09Is she one of the most gifted players to grace the women's game?

03:13Yes, I've been lucky enough to see her play a couple of times

03:16over the last 18 months or so,

03:18and every time I watch a team that has her in it,

03:21she is the best player on the pitch.

03:22She's so diminutive, she doesn't maybe look like someone

03:25who would be capable of controlling games and bending games to her will,

03:29but we know Lionel Messi was the master of it in the men's game for so, so long,

03:34and she has a similar kind of ability to dictate games and turn games on the head.

03:39I think both on and off the pitch, she's incredible

03:41and is really the face, I guess now, of Spanish women's football.

03:45It's time now to take a look at the shortlist for the Men's Award.

03:49Last year, it was Lionel Messi who overcame Erling Haaland

03:52to claim a record eighth Ballon d'Or title.

03:55But 2024 is the first time in over 20 years

03:59that neither Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo have been nominated.

04:03So, who is in contention this time around?

04:06Leading the way on the list of the 30 men's nominees this year

04:09is a handful of players from Spain's Euro 2024 winning team.

04:13Dani Carvajal is included after also scoring in the Champions League final for Real Madrid,

04:18along with the likes of Dani Olbo, Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal,

04:22who burst onto the scene this year for his country,

04:24winning the Young Player of the Tournament for his contribution

04:27to another Spanish international trophy.

04:30Bayer Leverkusen are also well represented

04:32after winning their first ever Bundesliga title last season.

04:35The captain, Granit Xhaka, Florian Wurz and Alejandro Grimaldo

04:40all played a vital role in the glory for Xabi Alonso's team.

04:43Toni Kroos has been given the nod after retiring from the game this year,

04:47while his former Real Madrid teammate Vinicius Junior

04:49is considered to be one of the frontrunners.

04:52His main rival for the award will be Manchester City midfielder Rodri.

04:55His influence on Pep Guardiola's team has been crucial

04:58to them winning a record fourth consecutive Premier League title last season.

05:03I spoke to Italian midfielder Marco Verratti

05:06and asked him which of these two superstars he thinks should kick up the trophy.

05:10If I had to pick one, I'd give it to Rodri.

05:15He's an incredible player.

05:19I don't think he's ever lost a game against City on the pitch.

05:22He managed to win the Euro.

05:24It's true that today's players always think of their strikers,

05:27of those who score goals,

05:28but I think it was a very important factor for City and for Spain.

05:33Without him, it would have been a different team.

05:36Some famous names may no longer be on the nominations list,

05:39but anticipation is still high ahead of the 2024 Ballon d'Or ceremony in Paris.

05:45Let us know who you think will take home this year's awards

05:48using the hashtag footballnowballondor.

05:51That's all we've got time for from the La Salle Stadium here in Qatar.

05:54We'll see you next time.

05:56Bye for now.

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