The top players in men’s and women’s soccer will assemble in Paris on Monday for the 2024 Ballon d’Or awards ceremony. This will be the 68th edition of the gala event which has been awarded to the best soccer players by French publication France Football since 1956. It is generally considered to be the most prestigious individual award that any soccer player can aspire to win. Lionel Messi and Aitana Bonmati are the current titleholders of the main prizes across both categories but the Inter Miami man is not on this year’s shortlist so cannot hope to defend his eighth crown.
Here’s how you can watch the ceremony and more:
How to watch
Who are the men’s nominees?
Manchester City and Norway’s Erling Haaland as well as Real Madrid and France’s Kylian Mbappe — who will be judged for this based on his Paris Saint-Germain form after his summer move — were expected to succeed Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as the two dominant powers of world soccer in terms of men’s individual awards. However, that has not transpired just yet and although both are on the shortlist, neither are expected to win with Haaland’s City teammate and Spain international Rodri as well as Mbappe’s Real colleague and Brazil international Vinicius Junior also in contention. Given the lack of a clear candidate across club and international soccer, this year’s men’s field is wide open and there are a host of England internationals with Bayern Munchen’s Harry Kane, Real’s Jude Bellingham, City’s Phil Foden and Arsenal pair Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka as well as Chelsea’s Cole Palmer. There are also a number of Premier League-based foreign stars such as City’s Portugal international Ruben Dias, Aston Villa’s Argentine goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez as well as Gunners pair Martin Odegaard of Norway and William Saliba of France. It is also important to note that eight-time winner Messi and five-time champion Cristiano Ronaldo have not been nominated at all which is a first since 2003.
Who are the women’s nominees?
Defending champion Bonmati of Barcelona leads the way for the women’s prize but there is a host of talent based in the United States that is also in contention which includes U.S. women’s national team stars Trinity Rodman, Mallory Swanson, Sophia Smith and Alyssa Naeher as well as Zambia’s Barbra Banda and Brazil’s Tarciane. America’s Lindsey Horan of Olympique Lyonnais in France is also in the mix while Barca’s contingent of Patricia Guijarro, Caroline Graham Hansen, Salma Paralluelo and former winner Alexia Putellas also technically includes Mariona Caldentey — who has since joined Arsenal — and Lucy Bronze — now of Chelsea — as well as recent arrival Ewa Pajor from VfL Wolfsburg. England internationals Lauren James and Lauren Hemp also feature.
How are the winners picked?
The prizes are picked by an international jury of journalists from FIFA’s top 100 men’s world soccer rankings with each individual selecting 10 players. The order of merit dictates how many points each pick gets which ranges from 15 to one single point with the player scoring the most points winning the Ballon d’Or. A full ranking of the top 30 players is published in the build-up to the final three names being announced.
Who won last year’s men’s and women’s awards?
Messi is the record eight-time winner and current titleholder in the men’s category but he will not be eligible to defend that title this year. Bonmati won her first crown in 2023 in the women’s category which was only introduced in 2018 and is in the field to defend that title.
Who is the men’s favorite?
Real’s Vini Jr. is expected to win the men’s award for the first time although there is no clear and obvious candidate across club and international soccer this year. The Brazil international won La Liga and the UEFA Champions League with Los Blancos last season and scored 24 goals with 11 assists across all competitions including one of the two goals which won Carlo Ancelotti’s side the final 2-0 against Borussia Dortmund at Wembley. The 24-year-old’s international claims are much weaker though with just two goals across nine appearances this year which included a premature Copa America quarterfinal exit. City and Spain midfielder Rodri is another candidate with the injured 28-year-old key for Pep Guardiola’s Premier League winners and La Roja as they won UEFA Euro 2024 which saw him named player of the tournament. Bellingham also has a case based on his Real form with 23 goals from 42 outings and he was part of the England side beaten by the Spanish in the Euro final in Germany this summer.
Who is the women’s favorite?
Bonmati is strongly fancied to win the women’s award again to defend her crown with the World Cup winner enjoying another strong season with Barcelona who won a fifth consecutive Liga F title in Spain and also won the Champions League final against Lyon which saw her score and win player of the tournament. Spain also won the UEFA Nations League earlier this year with Bonmati scoring against France in a 2-0 success. Barca teammate Caroline Graham Hansen is competition for that award with 21 goals and 19 assists in Liga F as well as a role in the UCL team of the tournament alongside Bonmati while OL’S Kadidiatou Diani, Barca’s Salma Paralluelo and USWNT’s Mallory Swanson who led the Stars and Stripes to Olympic gold in Paris this summer.
Are there any other categories?
On top of the men’s and women’s prizes, there are a number of other awards available which include the Kop Trophy for the best young talent under the age of 21 which has been won by the likes of Mbappe and Bellingham in the past. The Yashin Trophy for best goalkeeper, men’s and women’s head coach of the year also get recognized as well as the Gerd Muller trophy for the top scorer, men’s and women’s clubs of the year and the Socrates humanitarian prize.
