A new face is expected to be rewarded, with the dominant era of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo now over.
Real Madrid have a good chance of having the winner in their ranks. Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham are considered the favourites, but Toni Kroos and Dani Carvajal are also serious candidates.
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Carlo Ancelotti managed all four of these players last season, and he picked his winner during his interview with The Obi One Podcast (via Relevo).
“In my opinion, Vinicius should win. He did very well last season. Dani Carvajal also did great things – he won La Liga, the Champions League, scored in the final and won the European Championship. But Vinicius is young, talented and he can improve. He won the league, he won the Champions League by scoring in the final, in the semi-final, he scored 2 goals in Munich. Jude also had a fantastic season and was the best player in the league.”
Few would begrudge Vinicius winning the award. He has been one of the best players in the world for the past few seasons and Real Madrid will be hoping he wins a number of Ballon d’Ors during his time with the club.
