Ballon d’Or 2024: Fresh ranking reveals top five contenders

And now some of their representatives are in the race for the most prestigious individual award in football.

On the other hand, Argentina defended their Copa America title this year and this has put their captain, Lionel Messi among top five contenders for the award.

Here are the current favourites to win the 2024 Ballon d’Or.

5 Lionel Messi (Inter Miami/Argentina)

Messi has emerged as the first Major League Soccer MLS star to remain strongly in contention for the Ballon d’Or.

He has scored 12 goals and provided nine assists in only 12 appearances for MLS this season and contributed to Argentina’s Copa America triumph this year with one goal and one assist in five appearances.

4 Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan/Argentina)

The Inter Milan frontman, Lautaro Martinez scored 24 goals for the club in Serie A last season and propelled them to a league title.

He also scored five goals in Argentina’s Copa America campaign and won his third trophy with his country.

3 Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid/England)

He scored seven late goals for both club and country last season. The England international singlehandedly won as many as 10 points for Real Madrid with his late goals last season.

Bellingham has emerged as one of the best players in world football at the moment and could potentially win the Ballon d’Or

2 Rodri (Manchester City/Spain)

The Manchester City star has been imperious on the ball over the past year and was the proverbial puppet-master behind Spain’s Euro 2024 triumph.

He won the ‘Player of the Tournament’ award for his performances at Euro 2024.

The Spaniard also won the Premier League title last season and is currently one of the favourites to win the Ballon d’Or this year.

1 Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid/Brazil)

The Brazilian attacker Has been impressive for his club Real Madrid, helping them to win the UEFA Champions League yet again last season.

He scored six goals and provided four assists to help Carlo Ancelotti’s Los Blancos win the competition.

He also scored a crucial goal in the final and is currently the frontrunner in the award.