The 2024 Ballon d'Or: Who Will Claim the Trophy in Paris?

The 2024 Ballon d’Or will mark its 68th edition, an award that the French magazine France Football has presented annually since 1956. Recognized as the most prestigious individual accolade in football, the ceremony will take place on Monday, October 28 at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris starting at 19:45 GMT. The spotlight will shine on who will succeed Lionel Messi as the men’s winner and whether Aitana Bonmati can retain her title as the top female player.

This year, 30 nominees compete in both the men’s and women’s categories. Notable players in the men’s category include six England representatives: captain Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden, Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka and Cole Palmer along with others like Ruben Dias and Emiliano Martinez. Remarkably, both Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo did not receive nominations this year for the first time since 2003.

In the women’s category, England’s Lauren James, Lucy Bronze and Lauren Hemp lead the nominations along with Chelsea’s Sjoeke Nusken, Mayra Ramirez, Manchester City’s Yui Hasegawa and Khadija Shaw. The voting process involves a jury of journalists from the top 100 countries in the FIFA men’s world ranking, who rank their top 10 players. They award points based on their rankings and the player with the most points wins.

Lionel Messi claimed the 2023 award for the eighth time while Aitana Bonmati won the women’s award for the first time. In the 2024 Ballon d’Or awards, Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr. stands out as the frontrunner for the men’s trophy while Bonmati leads the race for the women’s award. The ceremony will also include additional categories such as the Kopa Trophy for the best player under 21 and the Yashin Trophy for the best goalkeeper.