Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham recently gave his opinion on who believes should win the next Ballon d’Or award.
Despite being a strong contender for the award, the England international does not let it bother him since he feels players with diverse styles should be honored.
Jude Bellingham’s pick and his reason
Following an incredible season, which saw him the LALIGA Player of the Season award, Bellingham is tipped to win France Football’s coveted prize as well. Although, the 20-year-old midfielder downplayed his prospects of winning the award in an interview with Teledeporte which was posted on X.
“I always felt that the Ballon d’Or and those kind of things were like for strikers and wingers, the flashy players. I know I can entertain a crowd but no one can do it like Vini,” Bellingham said.
👑@BellinghamJude cree que @vinijr debería ganar el #BalonDeOro
“Esos premios son para jugadores muy espectaculares y en eso no hay nadie como Vini”
📺La entrevista completa, en el @telediario_tve pic.twitter.com/iR7n061LnA
— Teledeporte (@teledeporte) May 29, 2024
“I’ve said before that when he is at his best, he’s the best player in the world. I know he likes to say the same about me and that’s the kind of relationship we have. You don’t always have to be friends with your team-mates but it helps when you can be so close off the pitch as well, and then on the pitch it reflects.
“We have a good understanding of each other’s movement and if he was to win it I’d feel just as proud as if I’d won it because I know that I’ve helped contribute to his success,” Bellingham added.
Bellingham has had an incredible season, both collectively and as an idividual. He has 12 assists in addition to scoring 23 goals in all competitions, 19 of which put him third on the LALIGA top scorer list.
Having altready won the league and the Supercopa de Espana this season, Bellingham will play against will play his former side, Dortmund, in the Champions League final, this weekend.
Vinicius Jnr’s impressive season
Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jnr., like Bellingham has also beeen tipped to win the Ballon d’Or following an incredible season, that has seen him score 23 goals and provided 11 assists.
Sports Buddy recently reported that his manager Carlo Ancelotti tipped him for the Ballon d’Or.
“I don’t know. What he contributed in this semi-final can be contributed by very few. He will be the protagonist in the final, because what he did in the second leg is not something you see many times,” the Italian manager said.
Is Jude Bellingham right?
Jude Bellingham in the interview said he thinks Ballon d’Or is meant for wingers, strikers and flashy players. However, this statement might not be entirely true as we have seen players win the Ballon d’Or without necesarily being flashy, with Fabio Canavaro, and Luca Modric being good examples.
Fabio Canavaro won the award as a defender in 2006 following his impressive performance helping Italy clinch their fourth World Cup trophy, while Croatian Midfielder Luca Modric won the Ballon d’Or award in 2018, without necessarily being flashy.
