Who will claim the ultimate prize?

Ever since 1956, the Ballon d’Or has been hosted annually by French football magazine, France Football, as the season’s best footballer is chosen for the prestigious award. On Oct. 28, a new winner will be announced ushering in a new era for international football. 

France Football, which gathers journalists from across the 100 best ranked men’s football countries in the world and together, they vote for who wins the prize. As of September, the voting process has begun and a shortlist of the top 30 nominees has already been released.  

This is momentous, as this year will mark the first time that legends Lionel Messi and Christiano Ronaldo are absent from the competition. Ever since 2008 when Ronaldo won his first Ballon d’Or, followed by Messi in 2009, the two have been at odds, as seemingly each installment of the competition has been won by either one or the other. Currently, Messi won his final prize last year, taking the lead with a total of eight victories, a competition record. Ronaldo followed behind with five wins, holding the record for the most nominations at 18. As both legends’ retirement looms closer, a new era of football is upon us. 

With voting progressing, the football community is still reacting to the competition’s shortlist, as it has had its fair share of controversy over which players made it and which were snubbed. Though the legends are past their prime, there has been some criticism over Messi not making the shortlist despite his efforts with Argentina, as he led them in winning the Copa América this year. To this is a greater argument about the competition having lost some of its prestige due to a lack of star power nominees post Messi and Ronaldo and their generational peers. This might be a greater discussion for football as a whole, however.  

Though the old guard might be gone, the list is filled with wonderkids and legends in the making, as  stars like English Jude Bellingham, Brazilian Vinicius Junior and Spanish Rodri have taken the lead as likely winners of this installment. Bellingham and Junior have been phenomenal, having won the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and LaLiga with Real Madrid as teammates. While Junior’s Brazil struggled in the Copa América exiting in the quarterfinals, Bellingham was influential in helping England reach the finals of the Euros. Spain would beat England in that final, and Rodri would be at the heart of it raising the cup while also winning the player of the tournament award.  

If Rodri were to win the Ballon d’Or that would be 34 years since a midfielder won it and the second time a Spanish player won it since 1960, the first being Luis Suarez who was also the first midfielder to win it. Despite not being an attacking player, which the competition usually favors, Rodri has helped his club win the English Premier League and FIFA Club World Cup, scoring in each campaign. 

Anything is still possible, however, as the likes of Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappé and many more are in the running.