Ballon d'Or 2024: Bellingham up against Real Madrid teammate Vinicius Jr and Manchester City's Rodri
England's Jude Bellingham will have to finish ahead of his Real Madrid teammate Vinicius Jr. and Manchester City midfielder Rodri if he is to win the Ballon d'Or and be crowned the world's best footballer for 2024.
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Bellingham is hoping his sensational debut season at the Bernabeu will help him upgrade the Kopa Trophy he won at last year's ceremony for the best player under the age of 21.
A free-scoring start to life in Spain saw him twice find the net with stoppage time El Clasico winners and a Euro 2024 victory with England would have surely guaranteed him the Ballon d'Or.
Bellingham rescued England with a stunning overhead kick to avoid elimination against Slovakia in the last-16 - but, despite reaching the final, he was unable to prevent his nation falling to defeat against Spain.
However, with Vinicius scoring a hat-trick in the final of the Spanish Super Cup and starring in Real's Champions League triumph, he may have the edge.
Manchester City midfielder Rodri is also one of the favourites among the list of nominees after helping Spain win Euro 2024, while his club side defended its Premier League title.
Rodri's club teammate Erling Haaland is among the nominees after scoring 38 goals for City last season, while Phil Foden and Ruben Dias have also been given the nod.
England's Euro 2024 runners-up are well represented, with Harry Kane, Declan Rice and Cole Palmer all included.
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Granit Xhaka played a pivotal role in Bayer Leverkusen's phenomenal double-winning season and he has been awarded with a place on the list.
For the first time since 2003, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have not been nominated for the Ballon d'Or.
Ballon d'Or Nominations 2024
Jude Bellingham - Real Madrid
Ruben Dias - Manchester City
Phil Foden - Manchester City
Federico Valverde - Real Madrid
Emiliano Martinez - Aston Villa
Erling Haaland - Manchester City
Nico Williams - Athletic Bilbao
Granit Xhaka - Bayer Leverkusen
Artem Dovbik - AS Roma
Toni Kroos - Real Madrid (retired)
Vinicius Jr. - Real Madrid
Dani Olmo - Barcelona
Florian Wirtz - Bayer Leverkusen
Martin Odegaard - Arsenal
Mats Hummels - Borussia Dortmund
Rodri - Manchester City
Harry Kane - Bayern Munich
Declan Rice - Arsenal
Vitinha - Paris Saint-Germain
Cole Palmer - Chelsea
Dani Carvajal - Real Madrid
Lamine Yamal - Barcelona
Bukayo Saka - Arsenal
Hakan Calhanoglu - Inter Milan
William Saliba - Arsenal
Kylian Mbappe - Real Madrid
Lautaro Martinez - Inter Milan
Ademola Lookman - Atalanta
Antonio Rudiger - Real Madrid
Alejandro Grimaldo - Bayer Leverkusen