Football’s most prestigious individual honour will be awarded this weekend, with the best men’s and women’s player of this past year announced.
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00:00It's award season again in the world of football.
00:03The 2024 Ballon d'Or ceremony is almost upon us.
00:07Lionel Messi and Aitana Bonmati are the current holders.
00:10So let's take a look at who could be crowned
00:12the world's best player this year.
00:19Hello and welcome to Football Now.
00:21The Théâtre du Chalet in Paris will play host
00:24to the 68th edition of the Ballon d'Or Awards,
00:27where one male and female player
00:29will be crowned the best footballers in the world for 2024.
00:33A panel of journalists from FIFA's top-ranked nations
00:35have already cast their votes ahead of the ceremony,
00:38but what do they take into consideration
00:40when making that all-important decision?
00:43There are a list of criteria that are laid out
00:45that you have to look at.
00:46Obviously, the number one thing
00:48is individual performance, of course,
00:49and you weight them based on competitions.
00:53I mean, how you perform domestically is very important,
00:55but the Champions League's massive, of course.
00:57How you perform at the highest level of club football,
01:00the Champions League, and then when there are
01:01major international tournaments,
01:03the World Cup, the Euros, Asian Cup, Copa America,
01:06they get weighted significantly as well, as they should.
01:09I mean, that's a massive stage, there's lots of pressure.
01:12Yes, they might be less games
01:13than, say, the Champions League or your domestic league,
01:16but that is a big stage.
01:18You do put a lot of weights on those tournaments
01:20and how players perform on them,
01:22and I guess it just becomes a subjective thing
01:24where you weigh that all up together
01:26and come up with your rankings.
01:28Let's talk about some of the players nominated then,
01:30and leading the way in the women's category,
01:32much like last year,
01:33is Spain international Aitana Bonmati.
01:36She's a World Cup winner,
01:37she's a five-time Liga F champion,
01:40and now she's also a three-times Champions League winner.
01:43It's been an incredible year,
01:45and we asked her just what it means
01:46to be back on the list of nominations.
01:49For me, it's an honour to be nominated for the Ballon d'Or again.
01:52It's always special to be a part of this gala,
01:57this event, because it's where the great football players are.
02:04That means we've done things very well as a team.
02:07We've won four titles with Barça,
02:10and I and my team-mates deserve to be there.
02:14Bonmati's Barcelona won the Liga F
02:16and Women's Champions League double in May,
02:19so it's no surprise to see seven of their players on the list,
02:22including the likes of Salma Paraloello,
02:24Lucy Bronze and Alexia Pateas.
02:27Yes, a lot of the players are my team-mates.
02:31As she said, I think we've done a great job as a team,
02:34as a collective,
02:35and the fact that there are so many Barça players
02:38means that we've done things very well as a team
02:41and that we've won great things, like the Champions League.
02:45Elsewhere, as usual, the USA also have a strong presence,
02:49encouraged by their gold medal success at Paris 2024 in the summer.
02:53Sophia Smith, Mallory Swanson and Lindsay Horan
02:56are all among the strong American nominees.
02:59The Women's Super League is well-represented too,
03:01with four players for reigning champions Chelsea.
03:04But Bonmati is still highly favoured
03:06to pick up her second consecutive award.
03:09Is she one of the most gifted players to grace the women's game?
03:13Yes, I've been lucky enough to see her play a couple of times
03:16over the last 18 months or so,
03:18and every time I watch a team that has her in it,
03:21she is the best player on the pitch.
03:22She's so diminutive, she doesn't maybe look like someone
03:25who would be capable of controlling games and bending games to her will,
03:29but we know Lionel Messi was the master of it in the men's game for so, so long,
03:34and she has a similar kind of ability to dictate games and turn games on the head.
03:39I think both on and off the pitch, she's incredible
03:41and is really the face, I guess now, of Spanish women's football.
03:45It's time now to take a look at the shortlist for the Men's Award.
03:49Last year, it was Lionel Messi who overcame Erling Haaland
03:52to claim a record eighth Ballon d'Or title.
03:55But 2024 is the first time in over 20 years
03:59that neither Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo have been nominated.
04:03So, who is in contention this time around?
04:06Leading the way on the list of the 30 men's nominees this year
04:09is a handful of players from Spain's Euro 2024 winning team.
04:13Dani Carvajal is included after also scoring in the Champions League final for Real Madrid,
04:18along with the likes of Dani Olbo, Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal,
04:22who burst onto the scene this year for his country,
04:24winning the Young Player of the Tournament for his contribution
04:27to another Spanish international trophy.
04:30Bayer Leverkusen are also well represented
04:32after winning their first ever Bundesliga title last season.
04:35The captain, Granit Xhaka, Florian Wurz and Alejandro Grimaldo
04:40all played a vital role in the glory for Xabi Alonso's team.
04:43Toni Kroos has been given the nod after retiring from the game this year,
04:47while his former Real Madrid teammate Vinicius Junior
04:49is considered to be one of the frontrunners.
04:52His main rival for the award will be Manchester City midfielder Rodri.
04:55His influence on Pep Guardiola's team has been crucial
04:58to them winning a record fourth consecutive Premier League title last season.
05:03I spoke to Italian midfielder Marco Verratti
05:06and asked him which of these two superstars he thinks should kick up the trophy.
05:10If I had to pick one, I'd give it to Rodri.
05:15He's an incredible player.
05:19I don't think he's ever lost a game against City on the pitch.
05:22He managed to win the Euro.
05:24It's true that today's players always think of their strikers,
05:27of those who score goals,
05:28but I think it was a very important factor for City and for Spain.
05:33Without him, it would have been a different team.
05:36Some famous names may no longer be on the nominations list,
05:39but anticipation is still high ahead of the 2024 Ballon d'Or ceremony in Paris.
05:45Let us know who you think will take home this year's awards
05:48using the hashtag footballnowballondor.
05:51That's all we've got time for from the La Salle Stadium here in Qatar.
05:54We'll see you next time.
05:56Bye for now.