5 Ballon d’Or 2024 Possible Candidates After Messi, Ronaldo Leave Europe, Mbappe Misses Out

• Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo will not be in the running for the 2024 Ballon d'Or
• The two players have exited European football which technically limits their chances
• Sports Brief takes a look at the favourites for next year with Kylian Mbappe locked out

The 2023 Ballon d'Or might not have been awarded yet, but the race to win next year's is expected to kick off in earnest when European top leagues kick off this weekend.

The English Premier League, the Spanish La Liga, and the French Ligue 1 will begin this weekend, with the rest set to follow suit in subsequent days.

The Ballon d'Or rules were changed in 2021, so a player's performance will be looked at on a seasonal basis.

The 2024 award will therefore be judged based on the happenings when the seasons kick off up until next year's Euro Championships in Germany and the Copa America in the United States.

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It will be the first season since 2003 where neither Lionel Messi nor Cristiano Ronaldo will be playing in any top European League.

The two, who have dominated the award since 2008, have since joined the Major League Soccer and the Saudi Arabia Leagues respectively and thus are technically out of the running.

Sports Brief takes a look at some of the players who can challenge for the Ballon d'Or award.

1. Erling Haaland (Manchester City)

He might as well be looking for his second award if he can beat Messi to this year's award. The Norwegian will be eager to repeat his heroics with Manchester City, which saw him win the treble.

However, the 23-year-old will be disadvantaged by the Euro Championships, with his Norway side not expected to pull a lot of weight at the tournament compared to his rivals' nations.

2. Harry Kane (Bayern Munich potentially)

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Picture this, Kane moves to Bayern Munich, wins the Champions League on his maiden season in Bavaria, then returns to Germany with the England squad and captains them to Euro glory. He would then be an outright contender for the individual award.

However, the Tottenham star will first need to accept a move to Bayern to get into this conversation. Should he remain put in North London, he will need to have an extremely spectacular season to be considered for the award, given that Spurs are not playing in the Champions League this season.

3. Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid)

The new face of Real Madrid's attack after Karim Benzema's exit, the Brazilian has matured into a potent forward. After Los Blancos' forays in the transfer market, he will be feeling confident about his chances of helping them to another Champions League.

Vini's national team are always favourites for the Copa America and he will need to put on a star show in the USA next summer.

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4. Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona)

The Polish star is probably the unluckiest man in the history of the award in recent times. He will hinge his hopes on scoring a lot of goals for La Blaugrana and winning the Champions League under Xavi Hernandez.

He definitely has the ammunition to score goals, especially with the arrival of the versatile Ilkay Gundogan.

5. Marcus Rashford (Manchester United)

Following Manchester United's return to the Champions League, Rashford will have better chances this year of challenging for the Ballon d'Or if he can replicate his form immediately after the World Cup earlier this year.

Erik ten Hag has seemingly assembled a team that can challenge for top honours this season and Rashford will want to be in the thick of it before convincing Gareth Southgate that he needs to lead the line alongside Kane at the Euros.

Why Mbappe has not been included

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It goes without saying that Mbappe is the hottest prospect in world football.

He is, however, being faced with the prospect of not playing this season as his tiff with Paris Saint-Germain escalates, as reported by Sky Sports.

PSG have vowed to bench him for the entire season and judging by precedent, they can.

If one does not play, they cannot challenge for top awards and thus, Mbappe will be effectively locked out of the 2024 Ballon d'Or. Should he resolve his impasse with PSG or even move away from the club to Real Madrid, for example, he will be back in business.

Also, the French team he captains are borderline favourites for Euro 2024. Let the season begin!

Why Messi will beat Haaland

Sports Brief has also given a breakdown of why Messi holds the Ballon d'Or advantage over Haaland in the 2023 vote despite the Manchester City star winning the cup treble.

Apart from the World Cup factor, the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner starred in major games compared to the Norwegian's outings in big games in the Champions League.