Ballon d’Or 2024 – LIVE!
A dramatic night is ahead in Paris, as football’s most coveted individual prizes are handed out and a first-time winner of the Ballon d’Or is guaranteed. The award has been dominated by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo over the past two decades, but neither have made the shortlist this time, with Luka Modric and Karim Benzema also not included.
Vinicius Junior had been the firm favourite to win, having led Real Madrid to Champions League and LaLiga glory last season, but reports suggest the Brazilian could miss out. It is also claimed that Madrid will not be sending anywhere to the ceremony after learning their man was unlikely to win. Manchester City midfielder Rodri is now the favourite.
Previous winners Aitana Bonmati and Alexia Putellas are among those nominated for the Ballon d’Or Feminin, while Manchester United duo Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho are in the running for the Kopa Trophy, given to the best men’s under-21 player. There are plenty other awards to be handed out too, and you can follow all the action from tonight’s ceremony with Standard Sport’s LIVE blog below!
Ballon d’Or 2024 latest news
Start time: 7:45pm GMT | Theatre du Chatelet
How to watch: YouTube
Ballon d’Or shortlist
Full list of awards
Real Madrid to boycott ceremony
Saka and Palmer rankings confirmed
Former Gunners thriving
17:39 , Matt Verri
And ahead of them all are a couple of former Arsenal players.
Emi Martinez comes 18th, rewarded for his performances for Argentina and Aston Villa.
Granit Xhaka, meanwhile is 16th, having been nominated for the first time. It was a remarkable first season at Bayer Leverkusen, winning the Bundesliga without losing a single match.
Arsenal rankings finalised
17:26 , Matt Verri
Only Real Madrid have more players nominated for the men’s Ballon d’Or than Arsenal.
Four players for the Gunners made the 30-man shortlist, and it’s Martin Odegaard who has just about got the better of his team-mates.
26th – Declan Rice24th – William Saliba21st – Bukayo Saka19th – Martin Odegaard
Kopa Trophy
17:18 , Matt Verri
One of the many awards to look out for tonight is the Kopa Trophy, given to the best U21 men’s player in the game.
Two Manchester United players on the shortlist, but Lamine Yamal has to be the favourite.
Pau Cubarsi (Spain, Barcelona)
Alejandro Garnacho (Argentina, Manchester United)
Arda Guler (Turkey, Real Madrid)
Karim Konate (Ivory Coast, RB Salzburg)
Kobbie Mainoo (England, Manchester United)
Joao Neves (Portugal, Benfica / Paris Saint-Germain)
Savinho (Brazil, Girona / Manchester City)
Mathys Tel (France, Bayern Munich)
Lamine Yamal (Spain, Barcelona)
Warren Zaire-Emery (France, Paris Saint-Germain)
Lauren James ranked 13th
17:10 , Matt Verri
Flying through the rankings for the Ballon d’Or Feminin.
In terms of the Lionesses, it’s Lauren Hemp in 28th, Lucy Bronze 20th… and now Lauren James 13th.
The Chelsea star is only 23-year-old… she’s going to be on this shortlist for many, many years to come.
Saka ranking confirmed
17:00 , Matt Verri
Right, back to the rankings.
Antonio Rudiger next up, in 22nd, and then it’s Bukayo Saka.
The Arsenal star was nominated for the first time last year when he was ranked 24th… it’s three better for him this time.
Would have been significantly higher than that had Arsenal got over the line and won the Premier League.
The list they want to join!
16:52 , Matt Verri
Whatever happens tonight, we will get a first-time winner.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are not on the shortlist, having won it 13 times between them since 2008.
Karim Benzema and Luka Modric the only ones to break that dominance, but neither of them have been nominated this time.
Bronze voices frustration
16:43 , Matt Verri
It’s one of the biggest nights in the football calendar, but many of the best players in the women’s game will not be in attendance.
That includes the likes of Lucy Bronze and Lauren Hemp, who are currently on England duty ahead of tomorrow night’s match against South Africa.
Players voiced their frustration last year that the ceremony was taking place during a women’s international break, but a change has not been made this time.
“These barriers being put up in front of us again is very frustrating,” Bronze said last week.
“And not only frustrating that it’s happened, but it obviously happened last year. And it’s like is anybody listening?
“It’s quite alarming that it’s literally a window where everybody goes all over the place. It just seems quite inconsiderate in a way.”
Dias just ahead of Saliba
16:33 , Matt Verri
William Saliba made the 30-man shortlist for the first time this season.
The Arsenal defender has established himself as one of the best centre-backs in the Premier League, if not the world. He’s ranked 24th.
Next up is Ruben Dias in 23rd – he was 30th last year. He’ll be right up there by 2027 at this rate…
England duo next up!
16:26 , Matt Verri
Moving swiftly through these rankings.
In 26th it’s Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice, who has hit the ground running in north London since arriving from West Ham.
And Cole Palmer is ranked 25th, after a sensational first season at Chelsea.
Feels like he’d be much higher on just his individual performances, but Chelsea’s struggles mean he is still a fair bit down the rankings.
First men’s rankings revealed
16:18
And over on the men’s side…
Mats Hummels and Artem Dovbyk are ranked in a tie for 29th.
The pair are now team-mates at Roma, but it was their performances last season that got them shortlisted.
Hummels reached the Champions League final with Borussia Dortmund, while Dovbyk finished as top score in LaLiga for Girona.
Bayer Leverkusen’s Alejandro Grimaldo is 28th, just behind PSG midfielder Vitinha.
Rankings have begun!
16:08 , Matt Verri
Still a few hours to go until the ceremony gets underway, but the rankings for the men’s and women’s Ballon d’Or have started to be released.
Players from 30th to 21st have been confirmed for the women’s award, with England winger Lauren Hemp in 28th.
Man City team-mate Yui Hasegawa is 26th, while Chelsea striker Mayra Ramirez has come 21st in the rankings.
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Busy night ahead…
16:00 , Matt Verri
Here is the list of awards to look out for throughout the night:
Men’s Ballon d’Or
Women’s Ballon d’Or
Kopa Trophy (best player under 21 years old)
Yashin Trophy (best goalkeeper)
Gerd Muller Trophy (top goalscorer from 2023/24 season)
Men’s Club of the Year trophy
Women’s Club of the Year trophy
Men’s Coach of the Year
Women’s Coach of the Year
Barcelona in attendance!
15:54 , Matt Verri
Real Madrid won’t be represented in Paris tonight, but Barcelona certainly will be.
Lamine Yamal one of those who has just landed and it could be a big night for the teenager.
He is on the 30-man shortlist for the Ballon d’Or, and surely has a huge chance of winning the Kopa Trophy for the best U21 player.
Real Madrid set to skip ceremony after twist
15:44 , Matt Verri
Vinicius Junior has been the big favourite to win the Ballon d’Or tonight, a reward for his stellar performances as Real Madrid won the Champions League and LaLiga last season.
However, reports today suggest that Vinicius is in fact now set to miss out.
It’s claimed that Real Madrid have been told he will not win and are therefore not planning to attend, with Florentino Perez, Carlo Ancelotti and Jude Bellingham among those joining Vinicius in skipping the ceremony.
A dramatic late twist ahead of tonight’s event, with Rodri now the favourite.
Ballon d’Or shortlist in full
15:36 , Matt Verri
Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid)
Hakan Calhanoglu (Inter Milan)
Dani Carvajal (Real Madrid)
Ruben Dias (Manchester City)
Artem Dovbyk (Dnipro/Girona/Roma)
Phil Foden (Manchester City)
Alejandro Grimaldo (Bayer Leverkusen)
Erling Haaland (Manchester City)
Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund)
Harry Kane (Bayern Munich)
Toni Kroos (Real Madrid)
Ademola Lookman (Atalanta)
Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa)
Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan)
Kylian Mbappe (PSG/Real Madrid)
Martin Odegaard (Arsenal)
Dani Olmo (RB Leipzig/Barcelona)
Cole Palmer (Manchester City/Chelsea)
Declan Rice (Arsenal)
Rodri (Manchester City)
Antonio Rudiger (Real Madrid)
Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)
William Saliba (Arsenal)
Federico Valverde (Real Madrid)
Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid)
Vitinha (PSG)
Nico Williams (Athletic Club)
Florian Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen)
Granit Xhaka (Bayer Leverkusen)
Lamine Yamal (Barcelona)
How to watch Ballon d’Or ceremony
15:28 , Matt Verri
Live stream: The ceremony will be broadcast live on L’Equipe’s YouTube channel and website.
The iconic Theatre du Chatelet in Paris hosts the award ceremony, which is due to start at 7.45pm GMT.
Live blog: You can follow all the action right here with us!
Good afternoon!
15:22 , Matt Verri
Hello and welcome to Standard Sport’s’ LIVE coverage of the 2024 Ballon d’Or ceremony!
It’s one of the biggest nights in the football calendar, as the most prestigious individual awards in the sport are handed out.
There will be a first-time winner tonight, with the likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo no longer in the running.
We’ll have all the shortlists and build-up for you, ahead of the ceremony getting underway in Paris at 7:45pm GMT.
