Belgium Great Names 2 Real Madrid Players To Win Ballon d’Or After Messi, Ronaldo Dominance

• Jan Vertonghen has thrown his weight behind two of Real Madrid's stars to win the Ballon d'Or
• He believes just a few names will not dominate the coveted individual awards
• Lionel Messi won the most recent Golden Ball Awards

Former Tottenham Hotspur defender Jan Vertonghen has endorsed two Real Madrid stars as potential future winners of the Ballon d'Or prize.

Vertonghen, however, does not anticipate a repeat of the dual dominance seen by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo over the past decade.

"I don't think it's going to be two guys dominating [the Ballon d'Or] for the next 15 years," the Belgium great told Stats Perform as cited by Tribuna.

Messi and Ronaldo monopolized the coveted individual award from 2008 to 2017, with Luka Modric breaking their streak in 2018.

While many predict Manchester City's prolific striker Erling Haaland and PSG sensation Kylian Mbappe to follow in the footsteps of Messi and Ronaldo, the emergence of players like Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham has added new contenders to the conversation.

Haaland names one attribute he wants in Messi ahead of Ballon d'Or battle

Football

Bellingham, in particular, has become a prominent candidate for the 2024 Ballon d'Or after an explosive debut season with Real Madrid.

Vertonghen, acknowledging this, has expressed his belief that Bellingham and several others could claim the prestigious award in the future, per Sportsmax.

"There are a lot of massive talents. Obviously, you've got Haaland and Mbappe already there for a couple of years, but then if you look at [Jude] Bellingham, what he's doing now, [Jamal] Musiala, I love him, Phil Foden, Vinicius [Junior].

The 36-year-old defender also hopes that goalkeepers and defenders will receive recognition in future Ballon d'Or awards.

Fabio Cannavaro was the last defender to win the prize in 2006, while Lev Yashin remains the sole goalkeeper to have clinched the award.

"Those are the young guys. I hope one day a defender or even a goalkeeper [can win]. Thibaut Courtois was very close the year [Real Madrid] won the Champions League," the 36-year-old also said.

Ballon d'Or: When Jose Mourinho named African striker who should have won prestigious award

Football

Exciting news! We have a WhatsApp channel 🤩

➡️ Click to join our channel for all your favourite sports news.

Bellingham wins Kopa Trophy

Earlier, Sports Brief reported that Jude Bellingham had been officially announced as the recipient of the 2023 Kopa Trophy on Monday, October 30.

This prestigious accolade - reserved for the most outstanding footballer under the age of 21 - was presented to the Real Madrid midfielder during an extravagant ceremony held at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, France.