Cristiano Ronaldo has tipped Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland, Jude Bellingham and Lamine Yamal to be long-term rivals for the Ballon d’Or – and said his victory in 2008 while he was at Manchester United gave him the belief he could excel at Real Madrid.
All four have been named on the 30-player longlist for the 2024 men’s award and are hoping to follow in the footsteps of five-time winner Ronaldo, who last lifted the trophy in 2017.
“In my opinion, he can be the Golden Ball winner for the [foreseeable] years,” Ronaldo said on his YouTube channel, speaking to former United team-mate Rio Ferdinand about Mbappe.
“It will be him, probably Haaland, Bellingham, Lamine. This new generation has a lot of potential. I believe [Mbappe] will do very well [at Real Madrid].”
They’re all here!
But… who should win it? #ballondor pic.twitter.com/SrkHBrJtuI
— Ballon d’Or (@ballondor) September 4, 2024
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Mbappe to ‘show everything’ at Madrid
Ronaldo moved to Real Madrid in 2009 for a then-record £80 million from Manchester United, scoring 450 goals in 438 appearances to become the club’s all-time top scorer before leaving for Juventus in 2018.
“It was pressure, 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 I won the Golden Ball at Manchester United and the Champions League, I knew I would do well.
“I believed in my skills and talent. It was difficult because it’s a different country; the adaptation, I was still young at 24. In the same way, I was very positive.
“It was the best club in the world I wanted to make history, like I did at Manchester United. I liked to prove people wrong from what they are thinking.
1️⃣ day, 1️⃣ nominee
🏴 Jude Bellingham
Real Madrid#ballondor
3 h pic.twitter.com/FCDWk9gX7R— Ballon d’Or (@ballondor) September 5, 2024
“The structure of the club is nice – it’s good, it’s solid. They have a great coach and president who have been there for many, many years.
“It’s not going to be a big issue for [Mbappe]. It’s not going to be a big problem because of his talent. He can show everything he’s capable of.”
Ronaldo Ballon d’Or wins
The Portugal captain’s win in 2008 launched a 10-year period during which only Ronaldo and Lionel Messi won the Ballon d’Or.
Then on his way to becoming Barcelona’s all-time top scorer, Messi won the trophy for the next four years before Ronaldo triumphed in 2013 and 2014.
He also won in 2016 and 2017 and came third in 2019, when Messi prevailed and Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk was runner-up.
𝑫𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝟑𝟎 𝒎𝒆𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒖𝒓𝒔 𝒋𝒐𝒖𝒆𝒖𝒓𝒔 𝒅𝒖 𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒆 💙@KMbappe et William Saliba nommés au Ballon d’Or Masculin 2024 ! 🏆👏#ballondor #FiersdetreBleus pic.twitter.com/DxqrZ9swLu
— Equipe de France ⭐⭐ (@equipedefrance) September 4, 2024
Ballon d’Or odds 2024
Madrid and Brazil attacker Vinicius Jr is the hot odds-on favourite 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 team-mates – defender Dani Carvajal, who plays for Spain – fourth-favourite.
Barcelona 17-year-old Yamal, Paris St-Germain all-time top scorer Mbappe and City top scorer Haaland are rank outsiders, according to bookmakers.
