On Monday, October 28, the Ballon d’Or gala will be held at the Théâtre de Châtelet in Paris to decide the best male and female player of the 2023-24 season.
This year, in its 68th edition, will be the first time that the highest individual award in the world of soccer will be given by the newspaper ‘L’Equipe’ in association with UEFA and France Football.
On August 4, the list of 30 candidates for the award was made public, from which the successor to Leo Messi, last year’s winner, will be chosen. In the same way, the list of 30 candidates for the female award was presented, after Aitana Bonmatí won it last year. The Yashin trophy, for the best goalkeeper, and the Kopa trophy, for the best player under 21 years of age, will also be awarded.
The names with the best chance of winning the coveted award are Real Madrid player, Vinicius Jr., or the Manchester City midfielder, Rodri. The Brazilian was champion of the last La Liga and Champions League with Los Blancos, being also the MVP of the European top competition.
Rodri, for his part, won the Premier League with the Mancunian club and the European Championship in Germany with the Spanish national team.
In the women’s category, among the most popular names are Barcelona players Caroline Graham Han, Salma Paralluelo, Patri Guijarro and, once again, Aitana Bonmatí.
The Ballon d’Or 2024 ceremony will begin on Monday at 20:45 CET.
