The race for the 2024 Ballon d’Or has seen significant changes with rising stars, as striker Erling Haaland is no longer highly regarded, while Jude Bellingham has suddenly emerged as an extremely valuable star. Why is that?
The competition for the Ballon d’Or title between Mbappe (bot, left) and Bellingham (bot, center) has become intense.
Bellingham has just won the ‘Oscar of sports’ – Laureus World Sports Awards, as the athlete with the biggest breakthrough in 2024. He is also the first football player in history to win this award. At just 20 years old, Bellingham is having an extremely brilliant season wearing the Real Madrid jersey. Playing in an attacking midfield position, the English player has captivated Spanish fans with his impressive performance, scoring 21 goals and providing 10 assists in a total of 36 matches.
“After scoring the decisive goal to help Real Madrid defeat arch-rivals Barcelona 3-2 and solidify their lead in La Liga (11 points ahead of their rivals with 6 rounds remaining), Bellingham expressed, ‘Choosing to come to Real Madrid is the smartest decision in my life so far.’
Just one day after the “El Clasico” match, Bellingham also became the focus of the football world by winning the Laureus Sport award. This award, along with the “Golden Boy” award (by Tuttosport, Italy) and the Kopa Trophy (France Football, France), all won in 2023 for the best under-21 player in the world, makes the English star the top contender for the 2024 Ballon d’Or.
“There is no doubt anymore, Bellingham is currently the brightest star in European football. His contribution to a great club like Real Madrid is truly immense, further asserting him as the biggest star of the team at just 20 years old. What’s even more remarkable is that he is a player from England,” Marca (Spain) expressed.
Compared to Erling Haaland, who was once not highly regarded (in terms of Ballon d’Or prospects) when both played for Borussia Dortmund in the past, and subsequently chose Manchester City and Real Madrid, the remaining one is forward Kylian Mbappe (PSG). All three of these players are seen as the new generation, replacing the two predecessors Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo who no longer play in Europe.
The 2023-2024 season is the benchmark for these three stars to compete for the 2024 Ballon d’Or, after Messi set the record for winning it for the 8th time last year. However, Haaland is gradually fading, despite still holding the goal-scoring record, but in big matches, the 23-year-old star of Manchester City seems to “disappear”. Meanwhile, Bellingham often scores important goals, leading Real Madrid to the Champions League semifinals and on the verge of winning La Liga.
“The competition for the 2024 Ballon d’Or may only be between Bellingham and Mbappe, who also led PSG to the Champions League semifinals. They may also be opponents in the Champions League final at Wembley Stadium on June 2nd (in the semifinals of this tournament, Real Madrid will face Bayern Munich, while PSG will face Borussia Dortmund). Next, Euro 2024 will also be another major opportunity for Bellingham and Mbappe to assert their positions, officially ushering in the era of Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo into the past,” Marca shared.”