Cristiano Ronaldo has told Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland, Jude Bellingham and Lamine Yamal that they will be long-term contenders for the Ballon d’Or – saying his 2008 win at Manchester United gave him the belief that he can shine at Real Madrid. .
All four have been shortlisted for the men’s 30-man award in 2024 and hope to follow in the footsteps of five-time winner Ronaldo, who last lifted the trophy in 2017.
“In my opinion, he can be the winner of the Golden Ball in the tournament [foreseeable] years,” Ronaldo said on his YouTube channel, speaking to United team-mate Rio Ferdinand about Mbappe.
“It will be him, maybe Haaland, Bellingham, Lamine. This new generation has a lot of potential. I believe [Mbappe] you will do very well [at Real Madrid].”
They are all here!
But… who should win? #football pic.twitter.com/SrkHBrJtuI
– Ballon d’Or (@ballondor) September 4, 2024
Mbappe will show everything in Madrid
Ronaldo moved to Real Madrid in 2009 for a then-record £80 million from Manchester United, scoring 450 goals in 438 games to become the club’s top scorer before moving to Juventus in 2018.
“It was stressful, but at the same time I believed in myself,” he recalled. “I said listen, if I was the best player in the Premier League and won the Golden Ball at Manchester United and the Champions League, I knew I would do well.
“I believed in my ability and my talent. It was difficult because it is a different country; adaptation, I was young at 24 years old. In the same way, I had high hopes.
“It was the best team in the world that I wanted to make history with, as I did at Manchester United. I loved proving people wrong about what they thought.
1️⃣ day, 1️⃣ nominee
🏴 Jude Bellingham
Real Madrid#football
3 h pic.twitter.com/FCDWk9gX7R– Ballon d’Or (@ballondor) September 5, 2024
“The structure of the club is good – good, strong. They have a coach and a great president who has been there for many years.
“It won’t be a big problem [Mbappe]. It won’t be a big problem because of his talent. He can show everything he can do.”
Ronaldo Ballon d’Or wins
The Portugal captain’s win in 2008 opened a 10-year period in which only Ronaldo and Lionel Messi won the Ballon d’Or.
On his way to becoming Barcelona’s top goalscorer, Messi won the trophy for the next four years before Ronaldo won in 2013 and 2014.
He won again in 2016 and 2017 and came third in 2019, when Messi won and Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk came second.
𝑫𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝟑𝟎 𝒎𝒆𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒖𝒓𝒔 𝒋𝒋𝒖𝒖𝒖𝒖𝒖 𝒏𝒅𝒆 💙@KMbappe and William Saliba nominated for the Ballon d’Or Masculin 2024! 🏆👏#football #FiersdetreBleus pic.twitter.com/DxqrZ9swLu
– Equipe de France ⭐⭐ (@equipedefrance) September 4, 2024
Ballon d’Or odds 2024
Madrid and Brazil striker Vinicius Jr is the hot favorite to win the Ballon d’Or this year ahead of Manchester City and Spain midfielder Rodri.
Madrid and England’s Bellingham is third favourite, with one of his teammates – defender Dani Carvajal, who plays for Spain – fourth favourite.
Barcelona’s 17-year-old Yamal, Paris St-Germain’s all-time top scorer Mbappe and City’s top goalscorer Haaland are out, according to the bookies.
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