Ballon d’Or Awards LIVE: Start time and latest updates as Real Madrid ‘boycott ceremony’ with Rodri set to win
The 2024 Ballon d’Or winner will be revealed tonight with Rodri favourite to succeed Lionel Messi
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The 2024 Ballon d’Or ceremony takes place in Paris tonight when the world’s best footballers gather at the Theatre du Chatelet for a night of awards and celebration.
Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr and Jude Bellingham as well as Manchester City’s Rodri are being widely tipped as frontrunners for the men’s award in a year where neither Lionel Messi nor Cristiano Ronaldo have been nominated. According to reports, Real Madrid’s delegation cancelled their trip to Paris at the last minute, after “leaked” results of the Ballon d’Or showed Rodri had received the most votes.
The female prize, named the Ballon d’Or Feminin, was won by Spain and Barcelona forward Aitana Bonmati last year and she is the favourite to lift the trophy again and become a two-time winner after 26 goals and 18 assists en route to winning the Champions League, three domestic trophies and the Nations League.
Two new awards will be introduced this year, with Men’s Coach of the Year and Women’s Coach of the Year joining a full slate of awards on an evening where legends of the game are celebrated.
Follow all the latest updates from the Ballon d’Or ceremony with our live blog below:
Ballon d'Or LIVE
Plenty of arrivals now for tonight’s ceremony which is only a couple of hours away.
15th - Nico Williams, Athletic and Spain
14th - Ademola Lookman, Atalanta and Nigeria
13th - Dani Olmo, RB Leipzig/Barcelona and Spain
12th - Florian Wirtz, Bayer Leverkusen and Germany
11th - Phil Foden, Man City and England
Ballon d'Or LIVE
More men’s rankings have landed:
20th - Hakan Calhanoglu, Inter and Turkey
19th - Martin Odegaard, Arsenal and Norway
18th - Emi Martinez, Aston Villa and Argentina
17th - Fede Valverde, Real Madrid and Uruguay
16th - Granit Xhaka, Bayer Leverkusen and Switzerland
Ballon d'Or LIVE
A full rundown of the previous men’s winners - will Rodri be joining them?
Ballon d'Or LIVE
Ahhh, videos for the women’s side emerge! Bunny Shaw’s impact at Man City has been immense - she was so close to a WSL title last year too.
Ballon d'Or LIVE
Plenty of big hitters at this stage in the Feminin award, including another of the Lionesses squad.
Barcelona’s Patri Guijarro just misses the top ten, ranking ahead of Chelsea’s Lauren James (13th) and Man City’s Bunny Shaw (15th).
Former winner Ada Hegerberg (14th) is also in this grouping - she won the first ever Feminin award of course.
Ballon d'Or LIVE
Lucy Bronze in at No.20 in the Feminin award!
Another big campaign for the Lionesses full-back.
Gabi Portilho and Giulia Gwinn are just inside the top 20.
Ballon d'Or LIVE
Toni Rudiger ranks at 22 and then it’s Arsenal star Bukayo Saka who just misses out on the top 20 this year, in at 21 after another stellar campaign with the Gunners.
Another brilliant goal at the weekend, too!
A defensive midfielder winning the Ballon d’Or?
There has been one goalkeeper, Lev Yashin, and a trio of defenders, though Fabio Cannavaro was more of a stopper than the German midfielders, Franz Beckenbauer and Matthias Sammer, who were converted into sweepers. But there has never been a defensive midfielder. The Ballon d’Or is almost seven decades old and Rodri, the man who earned Manchester City their first Champions League, could be a history maker in another respect.
A trophy that had seemed the private property of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo for a decade and a half may have an unlikely winner. Rodri ranks as second favourite, behind Vinicius Junior, for a prize he never imagined he might secure, despite suffering a season-ending knee injury last month.
But then why would he? The Ballon d’Or has tended to be reserved for forwards and flair players. His job description entails unselfishness. The defensive midfielder is constructed to allow others to get the glory. And yet the paradox of Rodri is that he has reached such a standard, achieved so much himself for his respective teams, that the spotlight has shone back onto him.
Richard Jolly on what Rodri winning would mean:
A defensive midfielder winning the Ballon d’Or? Why Rodri’s win would be historic
No one in Rodri’s role has ever won men’s football’s most coveted individual award but the Spanish midfielder has earned the right to be considered the best player on the planet
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