Jamie Carragher, Thierry Henry and Micah Richards made their first predictions for the 2024 Ballon d’Or winner, just a week after this year’s edition was awarded in Paris.
Lionel Messi gave him a record eighth honor at Theater du Chatelet, with Aitana Bonmati collecting his first ever Women’s Ballon d’Or, and Jude Bellingham lifting the Kopa Trophy for the most talented player under 21.
But ahead of CBS’ Champions League coverage, experts were already looking ahead to the future as the trio discussed the odds on next year’s winner on Wednesday evening.
According to the odds compiled by the American broadcaster, Jude Bellingham is the current frontrunner to take home the prestigious award, with Kylian Mbappé second favorite, followed by this year’s runner-up Erling Haaland.
England captain Harry Kane completed the top four, just ahead of the Argentina star who currently holds the golden ball.
Jude Bellingham is considered by CBS to be the front-runner for next year’s Ballon d’Or trophy
This year’s runner-up Erling Haaland could be held back by his national team’s poor record
Jamie Carragher and Micah Richards argued that Real Madrid were a crucial breeding ground for serial Ballon d’Or winners
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When asked if he thought Bellingham could become the first English player since Michael Owen to be honored by UEFA and France Football, Carragher claimed that ‘he could be’, with his choice of the domestic club playing a key role in his opportunities.
“He plays for a club that has a great chance of winning the European Cup,” Carragher said of Real Madrid, with whom Bellingham signed a £113million contract in June.
The former Liverpool star also tipped Bellingham and his compatriot Kane for a strong chance based on how the Three Lions fare at the 2024 European Championship next summer.
‘Along with France, Kylian Mbappé would also have a great opportunity, and who knows? He plays for a team that has a great chance to win the Champions League as well,” Carragher continued. “But out of those top four names at the moment, I think it would be very difficult for Haaland to win the title because of the country he is playing for.
‘Unless maybe Manchester City makes another treble, or he is great again in the Champions League. The other players I just mentioned probably got another chance during the tournament this summer.’
Henry agreed, with the French icon adding that it was “difficult for Mo Salah.’
‘Although you are going to have the African Cup of Nations, people are watching the European Championship. The impact of the Euro (competition) is different, the impact of the World Wup is different. So because it’s a big tournament, if you perform and have a great season, it’s over.”
However, Richards was keen to ‘just enjoy’ the ‘beautiful’ names at the top of the leaderboard, cheerfully adding: ‘We’ve got them for the next 10, 15 years, who knows!’
But the former Man City was definitive when he said: if (Mbappé) is at Real Madrid, he will take the lot. If he is at Real Madrid, remember, Meeks said, that he takes the fate.
Richards explained that while Mbappe has a chance if he wins the European Championship with France in Germany in 2024, a move to Real Madrid would see the talented Paris Saint-Germain ‘win everything, for the next ten years’.
In the past decade, only four of the winners have not been from Real Madrid, with the two players shattering the dominance between Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi, both teammates of the Al-Nassr star: Karim Benzema, in 2022, and Luka Modrisch in 2018.
Mbappe’s future has been the subject of much speculation over the past three years, with Real Madrid making no secret of their attempts to lure the forward to the Bernabeu.
Kylian Mbappé could still leave Paris Saint-Germain to join Real Madrid as a free agent in next summer’s transfer window
The France captain (center, white t-shirt) was briefly eliminated by the Ligue 1 champions at the start of the season for refusing to sign a new contract, but was invited back into the group
The French captain is believed to be plotting a move from the Parisian giants to LaLiga at the end of the season following the expiry of his contract.
But the Qatar-backed club are reluctant to let their superstar leave without compensation and are keen to tie Mbappe to an extension.
However, last week Real Madrid released an extraordinary statement insisting they were not in talks with the PSG man, calling claims to this effect ‘completely untrue’.
The club said: ‘Given the information recently issued and published by various media, speculating about alleged negotiations between player Kylian Mbappe and our club, Real Madrid CF would like to state that this information is completely incorrect and that there are no such negotiations have occurred. with a player who belongs to PSG.’