Awards ceremony
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The 2024 Ballon d’Or goes to Manchester City’s Spanish European champion Rodri. The 28-year-old is the successor to last year’s champion Lionel Messi (37, Inter Miami). Rodri received the award on Monday evening at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. Aitana Bonmatí from FC Barcelona prevailed among the female soccer players. Previously, the assembled sports celebrities, together with widow Heidi Beckenbauer and children Joel and Francesca, commemorated the German icon who died in January. Rodri won ahead of Real Madrid stars Vinícius Júnior (24), Jude Bellingham (21) and Dani Carvajal (32). Possibly because no Real player won the main prize, there appeared to be no Madrid representatives present in Paris.
As has often been the case in recent years, German professionals only played a supporting role at the gala. Toni Kroos (34), who ended his successful career after the home European Championships in the summer, took 9th place. Florian Wirtz (12th place) and Real defender Antonio Rüdiger (31, 22nd place) also made it to the final of the top 30. and ex-BVB defense chief Mats Hummels (35, 29th place). The fact that Jamal Musiala (21) was not taken into account caused upset at FC Bayern.
Among the female soccer players, Bayern players Giulia Gwinn and Lea Schüller came in 19th and 24th place, while Sjoeke Nüsken from Chelsea FC came in 25th.
The Yachine Trophy for the best goalkeeper was once again won by Emiliano Martínez. The 32-year-old Argentine world champion has been between the posts at Aston Villa since 2020. Coach of the year is veteran Carlo Ancelotti (Real Madrid). In the women’s category, US national coach Emma Hayes from England received the award.
The Kopa Trophy was won by 17-year-old Spanish European champion Lamine Yamal. This makes the FC Barcelona youngster the youngest winner in the history of this award. Champions League winner Real Madrid was honored as the best team in the world in 2024. The Gerd Müller Trophy for the best goalscorer of the season goes to Harry Kane (31) from FC Bayern and Kylian Mbappé (25), who moved to Los Blancos from Paris Saint-Germain in the summer. Kane accepted the award in person while Mbappé was not present at the event.
The Ballon d’Or has been awarded since 1956 and has long been the award for the best European player. From 2010 to 2015, the Ballon d’Or was awarded as a prize to the world footballer through a cooperation between the French media group Groupe Amaury and the world association FIFA. The collaboration with UEFA has been in place since this year – the umbrella organization no longer has the sole choice of European Footballer of the Year.
This is how the Ballon d’Or works
Ten journalists from “France Football” decide which 30 players make it onto the shortlist. When these were announced in early September, the voting window opened to 100 journalists from the 100 nations ranked highest in the FIFA world rankings.
The top 10 are chosen 100 times from the 30 given players, and it depends on the footballer’s placement on the list – the higher, the better. It is trusted that all journalists vote objectively. The journalists who represent their country in the election will only be replaced if they retire or if France Football believes there are electoral irregularities.
These criteria apply to the Ballon d’Or election
Individual success: This includes goals scored, assists and defensive performances during the previous season.
Team success: The titles and tournaments won by the club or national team play a big role.
Fair Play: Behavior on and off the pitch as well as fairness are also taken into account in the evaluation.
Especially due to the point of fair play, there were doubts in the community about the role of Vinicius Junior as the favorite, who is not known as the fairest player in LaLiga. However, his performances in big games for the Royals, winning the championship and the Champions League in the 2023/24 season plus 35 scorer points made him a favorite not only for coach Carlo Ancelotti.
Since 2009, the award has almost always gone to a professional from Real Madrid or Barça – the exception was Messi 2023, who was under contract with Inter Miami.
Trophy, gala ticket for life and possible millions
The winner receives the golden ball, which is made by the jeweler Maison Mellerio – no prize money is included. However, clauses in player contracts that provide for a bonus payment for winning the Ballon d’Or are common practice. Even with top transfers, transferring clubs are happy to include a clause that includes a bonus if their ex-player receives the award at the new club. As a result, the election often indirectly involves millions. In addition to fame and possible bonus payments, the winners receive a lifetime ticket to future award ceremonies.
