{"id":78076,"date":"2023-06-22T11:15:18","date_gmt":"2023-06-22T11:15:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2023\/06\/22\/who-will-win-the-2024\/"},"modified":"2023-06-22T11:15:18","modified_gmt":"2023-06-22T11:15:18","slug":"who-will-win-the-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2023\/06\/22\/who-will-win-the-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"Who will win the 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"

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England midfielder Jude Bellingham was officially unveiled as a Real Madrid player in June
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A changing of the guard is about to take place at the summit of men\u2019s football.<\/p>\n

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, who have held a stranglehold on the coveted Ballon d\u2019Or trophy for the vast majority of the past 15 years, are set to play in Saudi Arabia\u00a0and the USA\u00a0respectively next season.<\/p>\n

Karim Benzema, winner of the world\u2019s best player award in 2022, has followed in Ronaldo\u2019s footsteps by moving to Saudi Arabia, while the only other winner in that period \u2013 37-year-old Luka Modric \u2013 is reaching the end of his illustrious career\u00a0despite reportedly agreeing to stay at Real Madrid next season.<\/p>\n

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Messi is widely expected to win the 2023 Ballon d\u2019Or after guiding Argentina to a first World Cup crown since 1986 last winter, but who will pick up the mantle in 2024? BBC Sport takes a look\u2026<\/p>\n

Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid)<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the top performers at last year\u2019s World Cup in Qatar, Bellingham became the third-most expensive teenager in history \u2013 and the second-most expensive English player of all time \u2013 when he\u00a0joined Real Madrid\u00a0for an initial 103m euros (\u00a388.5).<\/p>\n

He was unable to guide the Bundesliga club to a first league title in 11 years but excelled in his final season in Germany, making history in October last year when he was made the club\u2019s youngest captain at just 19 years of age.<\/p>\n

Bellingham, who left Birmingham City for Dortmund for \u00a325m in 2020, registered 14 goals and seven assists in 42 appearances in 2022-23. Having turned down a host of Europe\u2019s top clubs in favour of the 14-time European champions, the midfielder is looking to maintain his remarkable career trajectory in the Spanish capital.<\/p>\n

Erling Haaland (Manchester City)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Erling<\/figure>\n

Haaland helped guide Manchester City to the treble in his first season in English football<\/em><\/p>\n

The first player to win the\u00a0Premier League player and young player of the year awards in the same season, the prolific Norwegian is perhaps the most obvious heir apparent to Ronaldo, Messi and co.<\/p>\n

Haaland sent records tumbling in his debut campaign in England\u2019s top flight, his 36-goal tally breaking the previous best mark shared by Alan Shearer and Andy Cole (34) for nearly three decades.<\/p>\n

The 22-year-old ended the season on 52 goals in 53 appearances, making him only the second player in English top-flight history \u2013 and the first in 95 years \u2013 to net more than 50 times in all competitions.<\/p>\n

Already on 229 career goals for club and country, he could well smash Ronaldo\u2019s all-time record of 837.<\/p>\n

Vinicius Jr (Real Madrid)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Vinicius<\/figure>\n

Vinicius Jr registered 44 goal involvements for Real Madrid in 2022-23<\/em><\/p>\n

In the aftermath of\u00a0Madrid\u2019s demolition of Liverpool in the last 16 of the Champions League\u00a0back in March, head coach Carlo Ancelotti called Vinicius the \u201cmost decisive player anywhere in the world \u2013 the one who determines matches most on a consistent basis\u201d.<\/p>\n

The Brazilian, who terrorised the Manchester City defence with his pace and trickery in the 2021-22 semi-finals before scoring the winner in the final against Liverpool, had 23 goals and 21 assists in all competitions in 22-23 \u2013 the third most across Europe\u2019s top-flight leagues behind Haaland and Kylian Mbappe.<\/p>\n

The target of racist abuse on multiple occasions last season, one particular incident involving Vinicius in Valencia sparked outrage in both Spain and Brazil.<\/p>\n

Seven people were subsequently punished for acts of racism, Valencia were sanctioned with a partial stadium closure and Vinicius himself was\u00a0recruited by Fifa to be part of a new anti-racism task force.<\/p>\n

Kylian Mbappe (Paris St-Germain)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Kylian<\/figure>\n

Kylian Mbappe was named Ligue 1\u2019s best player in 2022-23<\/em><\/p>\n

The prolific Frenchman has scored 212 goals and contributed 98 assists in 260 games since joining Paris St-Germain from Monaco in 2017, contributing to 13 domestic trophies with the Qatari-owned club.<\/p>\n

An integral part of France\u2019s World Cup triumph in 2018, Mbappe has also registered 38 goals in 88 appearances for Les Blues, placing him fifth in their all-time scorer\u2019s list \u2013 and a mere 15 goals behind current record holder Olivier Giroud.<\/p>\n

He was denied back-to-back World Cup victories by Messi-inspired Argentina, despite scoring the first final hat-trick since England\u2019s Geoff Hurst in 1966.<\/p>\n

Having informed PSG he will not be renewing his contract beyond 2024, there will be no shortage of suitors if the French champions\u00a0decide to cash in on the striker this summer.<\/p>\n

Neymar (Paris St-Germain)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Neymar<\/figure>\n

Neymar (right), who missed the last three months of the season with an ankle injury, joined his PSG team-mates at the Ligue 1 title ceremony<\/em><\/p>\n

At 31, Neymar is hardly the new kid on the block but the Brazilian\u2019s status as one of the game\u2019s biggest stars remains undisputed.<\/p>\n

The winger registered 35 goal involvements across all competitions last season, despite missing the final three months of the campaign with ankle ligament damage.<\/p>\n

Last November,\u00a0Neymar equalled Pele\u2019s \u2018official\u2019 men\u2019s goalscoring record\u00a0of 77 for Brazil with his World Cup quarter-final goal against Croatia. It is only a matter of time before the outright record is his.<\/p>\n

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