The UEFA Champions League wraps up soon, before players jet off for international duty in June for the 2024 Copa America and 2024 UEFA European Championship. Who will turn up with inspirational performances and win the Ballon d'Or this year?
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Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid)
Earlier this season, the 20-year-old might have been considered the outright favourite had his goals not dried up. Bellingham has scored only twice in LALIGA since the end of February, although a match-winning performance against Bayern Munich in the second leg of the Champions League semi-final and the same in the competition's final could drastically change the way the second half of his campaign is viewed. The England international was simply magical in his first six months at Los Blancos as he reached a level perhaps impossible to maintain – which is no criticism of the midfielder. Bellingham, with 32 goal contributions in 38 matches this season for the 14-time European champions, has been terrific and it should earn him a place among 2024's Ballon d'Or candidates. Getting England over the line at the Euros, though, could make him the favourite.
Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain)
He is arguably the best player in the world, but Mbappe is still awaiting the recognition most of the game's greats receive at least once in their career – the Ballon d'Or. The 25-year-old was named among the final three for the first time in 2023, but this year he finds himself in an even stronger position. The Paris Saint-Germain No. 7, tipped to leave the club for Real when his deal expires at the end of June, still has the Champions League and Euros to play for. While France will head into the tournament thought of as one of Europe's strongest contenders, clinching triumph in the continent's biggest club competition could perhaps separate him from the rest. Mbappe has played a hand in 53 goals in 45 games this season, and you get the feeling he isn't done yet. If he manages to inspire PSG to success in the Champions League, something no player – not even Lionel Messi nor Neymar – has been able to do before, the 2024 Ballon d'Or might just be his!
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Harry Kane (Bayern Munich)
The 30-year-old will be bitterly disappointed Bayern Munich stumbled in the Bundesliga in his debut season in Germany, but all is not lost for one of the most lethal finishers Europe has seen. Kane and his teammates in Bavaria could still go on to win the Champions League, an achievement that would potentially see him leapfrog Bellingham and Mbappe in the 2024 Ballon d'Or race. The Englishman has contributed directly to 55 goals in 44 matches this season for the German giants, and he'll undoubtedly be key for the Three Lions ahead of the coming Euros. Perhaps his exploits would have earned more praise had it been for a club in the Premier League, but there is nothing quite like it when a player unleashes their brilliance on the biggest stages. Cristiano Ronaldo did it time and time again. Lionel Messi too. Kane, an admirer of both superstars, must do the same.
Who would you like to see win the 2024 Ballon d'Or?
