Vinicius Junior and his Real Madrid teammates opted not to travel to Paris for the Ballon d’Or ceremony, as they believe Rodri Hernández will win the award. Commentator Palomo expressed his discontent, stating that Real Madrid’s absence from the event is unacceptable and goes against the club’s values.
The prestigious Ballon d’Or award will be presented on Monday, October 28, 2024, celebrating the best in football over the past year. The ceremony will take place at the Theatre du Châtelet in Paris, France, starting at 1:00 PM Mexico City time (3:00 PM ET) and is expected to last around three hours.
This year’s event will signify the end of an era that has been largely defined by Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, as neither player is among the nominees for the first time in 21 years. Lionel Messi, who holds the record for the most Ballon d’Or wins with eight, was awarded the title in 2023, with Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappé finishing in second and third place, respectively.
Viewers can tune in to the Ballon d’Or 2024 ceremony on TNT starting at 1:00 PM Mexico City time.
The ranking of the Ballon d’Or 2024 nominees is as follows:
29. Artem Dovbyk (Girona)
29. Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund)
28. Alejandro Grimaldo (Bayer Leverkusen)
27. Vitinha (PSG)
26. Declan Rice (Arsenal)
25. Cole Palmer (Chelsea)
24. William Saliba (Arsenal)
23. Rúben Dias (Manchester City)
22. Antonio Rüdiger (Real Madrid)
21. Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)
20. Hakan Calhanoglu (Inter Milan)
19. Martin Ødegaard (Arsenal)
18. Emiliano Martínez (Aston Villa)
17. Federico Valverde (Real Madrid)
16. Granit Xhaka (Bayer Leverkusen)
15. Nico Williams (Athletic Club)
14. Ademola Lookman (Atalanta)
13. Dani Olmo (Barcelona)
12. Florian Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen)
11. Phil Foden (Manchester City)
10. Harry Kane (Bayern Munich)
9. Toni Kroos (Real Madrid)
8. Lamine Yamal (Barcelona)
7. Lautaro Martínez (Inter Milan)
6. Kylian Mbappé (PSG)
5. Erling Haaland (Manchester City)
4. Dani Carvajal (Real Madrid)
3. Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid)
2. Vinicius Jr (Real Madrid)
1. Rodri (Manchester City)