Top 5 Young Stars Who Could Win The Ballon d’Or in future.
A journey to Ballon d’Or history reveals that even winning this highly coveted honor once is a career-defining achievement.
Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and the Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo have formed a duopoly over the last decade or so, but it is a modern era in the men’s game.
Ballon d’Or conversation will be different in the coming years. Here are five exceptional players expected to be in this Ballon d’Or mix.
Erling Haaland
Erling Haaland is past being regarded as one of the best young football players. He’s already in the discussion to be considered the best striker on the planet.
Haaland’s goal-scoring achievements speak for themselves. He exploded onto the Champions League stage with Salzburg. He has been unstoppable for the Bundesliga giant Borrusioa Dortmund and Norway regardless of which opponent comes across.
Pace, power, touch, instinct, and ruthless finishing; Haaland has it all. He’s a whole player, and at this level, it would be a surprise if he didn’t win a Ballon d’Or.
Kylian Mbappe
Mbappe is already a multi-time winner of France, a World Cup winner, and a constant Ballon d’Or contender. Electrically fast and with a silky touch, Mbappe leaves helpless defenders in his wake on a regular basis.
Perhaps playing in Ligue 1 is a disadvantage for winning the Ballon d’Or. Whether it is or not, it feels like a question of how many times he wins the award rather than if he does.
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Phil Foden
After years of debate over his playing time, Phil Foden is finally stretching into his own on both domestic and international stages.
Foden is an elite young talent. While he’s yet to reach the dizzy heights of Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe, it won’t be long before he’s regularly named alongside that duo.
The question for Foden as a Ballon d’Or contender could eventually be his position. There’s an overwhelming bias towards goal scorers. If Foden settles as a central midfielder as some expect, he could struggle to put up Ballon d’Or numbers.
Playing in the front three, though, Foden has already established himself as a goal-getter and creator. Perhaps that’s his path to holding football’s vastest individual trophy aloft.
Jadon Sancho
England supporters and media have been guilty of overhyping young talents in the past. That’s not the case this time around, however, as Gareth Southgate legitimately has swathes of high-quality under-23s at his disposal.
Jadon Sancho might just be the best of the group. Already starring for Borussia Dortmund, Sancho is only 21 years old, yet he’s already scored 46 senior goals and proved himself as one of the best productive players in world football.
A big move looks inevitable. Every prediction site around will be hoping that Sancho’s next club could be preparing a Ballon d’Or winner.
Kai Havertz
Kai Havertz’s addition in this list will raise eyebrows after a difficult first season in the Premier League club Chelsea.
Just a few months ago, though, tabbing Havertz as a Ballon d’Or quality talent was not unreasonable. The young German has the talent to be one of the best players of this generation.
The Chelsea stint will not define Havertz. Even if it doesn’t work out, he’s young and talented enough to grow into a world-beating star elsewhere.
Associating international success with a glittering domestic year is the key to the Ballon d’Or. Amid another excellent German generation, Havertz could be at the center of some thriving national sides to build a Ballon d’Or case.
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