The 2024 Ballon d’Or race has been a topic, with several football personalities giving their thoughts on who deserves to win the prestigious award.
One of the most recent takes came from Chelsea legend Frank Leboeuf, whose pick comes as a big surprise to fans.
Leboeuf’s bold pick has sparked controversy as he names an unexpected player who was never in the conversation of potential Ballon d’Or winners to clinch the prestigious award.
As if the recent twists in run-ins for the award were not enough, the World Cup winner’s pick is even more surprising.
Sports Buddy recently reported about the shocking change in Ballon d’Or 2024 power rankings, which saw Rodri emerge as favourite to win the award, thereby displacing Real Madrid duo Vinicius Jr., and Jude Bellingham, who were the frontrunners before the Euro 2024 and 2024 Copa America tournaments.
Frank Leboeuf on 2024 Ballon d’Or potential winner
Adding to the existing drama, Leboeuf’s pick comes as a bigger surprise, as he picks Real Madrid defender Dani Cavajal.
Cavajal had an outstanding year for both club and country, winning the La Liga and Champions League with Real Madrid and also the European Championship with Spain.
Given the 32-year-old defender’s successful year, Leboeuf believes he is the most deserving of all players.
“Carvajal, he’s won everything. So we have to call it the forward Ballon d’Or [if Bellingham or Vinicius wins it]. Vini won the Champions League, won the league, but was not really good in Copa America. Bellingham wasn’t good at the Euros,” the former Chelsea defender said, speaking on ESPN.
Leboeuf, however, acknowledged other contenders’ achievements. Despite this, he insisted Cavajal deserves the award more.
He continued, “Then you have Carvajal, nobody likes him because he doesn’t have [many goals]. He is like our times’ right-back, dirty, tricky or whatever but the guy won everything.
“So you can tell me what it is, whether it’s the Ballon d’Or of some people or the Ballon d’Or for all footballers. If that’s the case [Carvajal should win].”
