While France Football has revealed the 30 players nominated for the 2024 Ballon d’Or, Omar Da Fonseca, beIN Sports’ consultant on Spanish La Liga matches, has a big favorite for this edition.
Who will succeed Lionel Messi in the France Football Ballon d’Or prize list? A new winner will be revealed on Monday, October 28 at the Théâtre du Châtelet, in the heart of Paris, since the eight-time Argentinian record holder is not among the 30 players named revealed on Wednesday, just like Cristiano Ronaldo or Luka Modric and Karim Benzema (the other active Ballon d’Or winners). Vinicius, Jude Bellingham and Rodri have a slight lead over Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland, who have neither won the Champions League nor the Euro.
Omar Da Fonseca, the beIN Sports consultant, essential for commentating on matches Liga on the channel, already sees Vinicius winning. The Brazilian winger, if he has less important statistics than the scorers Mbappé, Haaland and Harry Kane (who scored as much as the captain of the Blues), obviously led Real Madrid to the 15th coronation of the Casa Blanca in C1, after having won the Spanish championship. His teammate Jude Bellingham would have made a choice winner but the midfielder did not shine at the Euro (and did not win it with the English selection).
Mbappé 2nd for the Ballon d’Or?
“I always put up posters in my room of players who dribbled, who handled the ball. As soon as I got up in the morning, I would pick up my ball to try to imitate them. I wanted this kind of player all the time. If I had to choose one, I would give it to Vinicius.”says Omar Da Fonseca to Football.frThe Buenos Aires native, a striker who played for Tours, PSG and Monaco, had a Brazilian prodigy among his childhood idols: playmaker Rivelino, world champion in 1970 with the Seleçao.
Da Fonseca would also vote for Mbappé as Vinicius’s runner-up, as the star beIN pundit is not “not mean with [ses] sensations, not stingy with the fact of putting Mbappé today at an international level”. And continues: “Sometimes I get a little tickled: ‘you’re making too much of yourself about Mbappé’sorry, today, Mbappé represents the country, France, in which I live, my children and my grandchildren, he represents attacking football, because he scores goals, he has already proven. I am for Mbappé to consolidate everything that is expected of him, so if we have to give him 2nd place…
IN BRIEF
- On October 28, the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris will host the Ballon d’Or ceremony, without Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo among the 30 nominees.
- Omar Da Fonseca, a consultant for beIN Sports, sees Vinicius as a favourite thanks to his performances with Real Madrid, despite having lower statistics than Mbappé and Haaland.
- Da Fonseca also backs Mbappe as runner-up, highlighting his importance to French football and his international potential.
