The elite of world football will gather in Paris on Monday for the Ballon d'Or ceremony, with Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior the leading candidate for the men's award and Barcelona's Aitana Bonmati the hot favourite to win her second-successive crown.
Vinicius, the man who inherited Cristiano Ronaldo's No 7 shirt at Real Madrid, has been tipped by many pundits to succeed Lionel Messi as the Men's Ballon d'Or after a season in which he won the Spanish championship and Champions League.
"Vinicius is going to win," Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti declared after his player netted a hat-trick in a 5-2 Champions League win against Borussia Dortmund last week.
"And not because of the three goals but because of his character. He's extraordinary."
In the Women's Ballon d'Or, 26-year-old Barcelona and Spain playmaker Bonmati is expected to retain the title she claimed for the first time last season.
She was again the outstanding player in a team which won its first continental quadruple of domestic league and cup, Spanish Supercopa and Champions League.
Barcelona's dominance of the women's game is reflected in the number of nominees the Catalan club boasts, with attackers Caroline Graham Hansen and Salma Paralluelo considered the two principal threats to their club-mate Bonmati.
What is the Ballon d'Or?
The prestigious accolade is generally regarded as a way to crown the best player in the world, and is therefore the highest individual honour a footballer can achieve.
In what is now a joint partnership between Uefa, France Football and L'Equipe, the 2024 Ballon d'Or awards will honour last season's best players, coaches and clubs, in addition to the top scorer, goalkeeper, young player and humanitarian.
Presented annually by France Football since 1956, the Ballon d'Or started as a way to reward the world's best male player. It has expanded over the years and has become more like football's answer to the Oscars with female players, coaches and teams all now part of the extravaganza.
It was first won in 1956 by the Englishman Stanley Matthews, who edged out the Real Madrid legend Alfredo Di Stefano, who would claim it the following year.
Lionel Messi has won it the most times with eight at home in his trophy cabinet, ahead of his great rival Cristiano Ronaldo who has five.
But with those two legends now running down their careers, the award is far more open than it has been for a while with numerous top players in with a chance this time around.
For the third time in the history of the award, it will be given based on the results of the season instead of the calendar year. This is the period from August 1, 2023, to July 31, 2024. The 30 nominees were announced on September 4, 2024.
When and where is the ceremony taking place?
The 68th edition of the awards will take place on Monday, October 28, at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris. The ceremony will begin at 8.45pm local time (11.45pm UAE).
Who are the nominees for the men's Ballon d'Or?
Jude Bellingham (England, Real Madrid)
Hakan Calhanoglu (Turkey, Inter Milan)
Dani Carvajal (Spain, Real Madrid)
Ruben Dias (Portugal, Manchester City)
Artem Dovbyk (Ukraine, Dnipro/Girona/Roma)
Phil Foden (England, Manchester City)
Alejandro Grimaldo (Spain, Bayer Leverkusen)
Erling Haaland (Norway, Manchester City)
Mats Hummels (Germany, Borussia Dortmund)
Harry Kane (England, Bayern Munich)
Toni Kroos (Germany, Real Madrid)
Ademola Lookman (Nigeria, Atalanta)
Emiliano Martinez (Argentina, Aston Villa)
Lautaro Martinez (Argentina, Inter Milan)
Kylian Mbappe (France, Paris Saint-Germain/Real Madrid)
Martin Odegaard (Norway, Arsenal)
Dani Olmo (Spain, Leipzig/Barcelona)
Cole Palmer (England, Manchester City/Chelsea)
Declan Rice (England, Arsenal)
Rodri (Spain, Manchester City)
Antonio Rudiger (Germany, Real Madrid)
Bukayo Saka (England, Arsenal)
William Saliba (France, Arsenal)
Federico Valverde (Uruguay, Real Madrid)
Vinicius Junior (Brazil, Real Madrid)
Vitinha (Portugal, Paris Saint-Germain)
Nico Williams (Spain, Athletic Club)
Florian Wirtz (Germany, Bayer Leverkusen)
Granit Xhaka (Switzerland, Bayer Leverkusen)
Lamine Yamal (Spain, Barcelona)
Who is the favourite to win the Ballon d'Or?
Real Madrid's Brazil superstar forward Vinicius Junior is the hot favourite having inspired his team to glory in La Liga and the Champions League last term.
Although the award is for last season's performances, his hat-trick against Borussia Dortmund in midweek highlighted precisely why he is the frontrunner.
He scored 26 goals and made 12 assists in 51 appearances for club and country last season, and would become just the third person not named Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo to win the Ballon d'Or since 2007 should he indeed get the nod.
His closest rival appears to be defensive midfielder Rodri, who helped Manchester City win the Premier League title and Spain lift the European Championship.
What other awards are being presented on the night?
There are several awards being given out, including the female Ballon d'Or and the men's and women's coaches of the year. The awards and various nominees are listed below.
Women's Ballon d'Or
Barbra Banda (Zambia, Shanghai RCB/Orlando Pride)
Aitana Bonmati (Spain, Barcelona)
Lucy Bronze (England, Barcelona/Chelsea)
Mariona Caldentey (Spain, Barcelona/Arsenal)
Tabitha Chawinga (Malawi, Paris Saint-Germain/Lyon)
Grace Geyoro (France, Paris Saint-Germain)
Manuela Giugliano (Italy, Roma)
Caroline Graham Hansen (Norway, Barcelona)
Patricia Guijarro (Spain, Barcelona)
Giulia Gwinn (Germany, Bayern München)
Yui Hasegawa (Japan, Manchester City)
Ada Hegerberg (Norway, Lyon)
Lauren Hemp (England, Manchester City)
Lindsey Horan (USA, Lyon)
Lauren James (England, Chelsea)
Marie-Antoinette Katoto (France, Paris Saint-Germain)
Alyssa Naeher (USA, Chicago Red Stars)
Sjoeke Nusken (Germany, Chelsea)
Ewa Pajor (Poland, Wolfsburg/Barcelona)
Salma Paralluelo (Spain, Barcelona)
Gabi Portilho (Brazil, Corinthians)
Alexia Putellas (Spain, Barcelona)
Mayra Ramirez (Colombia, Levante/Chelsea)
Trinity Rodman (USA, Washington Spirit)
Lea Schuller (Germany, Bayern Munich)
Khadija Shaw (Jamaica, Manchester City)
Sophia Smith (USA, Portland Thorns)
Mallory Swanson (USA, Chicago Red Stars)
Tarciane (Brazil, Corinthians / Houston Dash)
Glodis Viggosdottir (Iceland, Bayern Munich)
The Lev Yashin Trophy – for the best goalkeeper
Diogo Costa (Portugal, Porto)
Gianluigi Donnarumma (Italy, Paris Saint-Germain)
Gregor Kobel (Switzerland, Borussia Dortmund)
Andriy Lunin (Ukraine, Real Madrid)
Mike Maignan (France, Milan)
Giorgi Mamardashvili (Georgia, Valencia)
Emiliano Martinez (Argentina, Aston Villa)
Unai Simon (Spain, Athletic Club)
Yann Sommer (Switzerland, Inter)
Ronwen Williams (South Africa, Mamelodi Sundowns)
Kopa Trophy – for the best player under the age of 21
Pau Cubarsi (Spain, Barcelona)
Alejandro Garnacho (Argentina, Manchester United)
Arda Guler (Turkey, Real Madrid)
Karim Konate (Ivory Coast, Salzburg)
Kobbie Mainoo (England, Manchester United)
Joao Neves (Portugal, Benfica/Paris Saint-Germain)
Savinho (Brazil, Girona/Manchester City)
Mathys Tel (France, Bayern München)
Lamine Yamal (Spain, Barcelona)
Warren Zaire-Emery (France, Paris Saint-Germain)
Men's Coach of the Year
Xabi Alonso (Spain, Bayer Leverkusen)
Carlo Ancelotti (Italy, Real Madrid)
Luis de la Fuente (Spain, Spain)
Gian Piero Gasperini (Italy, Atalanta)
Pep Guardiola (Spain, Manchester City)
Lionel Scaloni (Argentina, Argentina)
Women's Coach of the Year
Sonia Bompastor (France, Lyon/Chelsea)
Arthur Elias (Brazil, Corinthians/Brazil)
Jonatan Giraldez (Spain, Barcelona/Washington Spirit)
Emma Hayes (England, Chelsea/USA)
Filipa Patao (Portugal, Benfica)
Sarina Wiegman (Netherlands, England)
Men’s Club of the Year
Borussia Dortmund (Germany)
Girona (Spain)
Bayer Leverkusen (Germany)
Manchester City (England)
Real Madrid (Spain)
Women’s Club of the Year
Barcelona (Spain)
Chelsea (England)
Lyon (France)
NJ/NY Gotham (USA)
Paris Saint-Germain (France)
Other awards
Gerd Muller Trophy – top scorer in previous season
Socrates Award for humanitarian work
How is the Ballon d'Or winner decided?
Although the event is now a joint effort, France Football, the originators of the Ballon d'Or, have retained the voting system and it is decided as follows:
The award is based on three main criteria: 1 Individual performances, decisive and impressive character; 2 Team performances and achievements; 3 Class and fair play.
The decision is made by an international jury of journalists, with one representative per country, from the top 100 in the latest Fifa rankings for men and the top 50 for women.
Each juror selects 10 players in descending order of merit from a list of 30 established by the editorial staff of France Football, members of the editorial staff of L'Equipe, the best juror from the previous edition – Costa Rica for the men's Ballon d'Or, South Africa for the women's Ballon d'Or – and Uefa ambassadors Luis Figo for the men's trophy, and Nadine Kessler for the women's trophy.
The 10 selected players are awarded 15, 12, 10, 8, 7, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 point, respectively. The Ballon d'Or is awarded to the player with the highest number of points. In the case of a tie, the players are separated by the number of first-place votes. If the tie remains, they are separated by the number of second-place votes, then by the number of third-place votes and so on.
