The Ballon D'or is the most prestigious individual sporting award any player can aspire to achieve. The greats of football have this award to boast how incredible they were in their appointed seasons but there are many who achieved the impossible and still were unable to get their hands on this award. So where does up-and-coming England midfielder Jude Bellingham come into this?
Players such as Neymar Jr., Luis Suarez and Thierry Henry have never won the Ballon d'Or despite winning La Liga and the Champions League during playing careers in Spain. The difference arugably, is that Jude Bellingham has had the monumental impact he has for Real Madrid.
This year there are three front runners for the Ballon D'or, all of which are deserving, being Vinicius Jr. (Brazil, Real Madrid), Jude Bellingham (England, Real Madrid) and Rodri (Spain, Manchester City).
Vinicius Jr. had a poor tournament with Brazil in Copa America, in fact Brazilian fans called for the likes of Gabriel Martinelli to start over him and have more game time. Yet for Real Madrid he shined as they won the Champions League for the fifteenth time and the league once again, with their talismanic winger scoring in the final.
He recorded 35 goals and assists in all competitions for Madrid and two goals in the Copa America.
Unlike his Real Madrid teammate, Jude Bellingham shined for his national team. Bellingham helped England to the final of Euro 2024, scoring one of the goals of the tournament to help England beat Slovakia on the way to reaching their second straight Euro final.
More similarly to Vinicius, in his first season at Real Madrid, Bellingham did the double winning the Champions League and La Liga. He recorded 36 goals and assists in all competitions for Real Madrid and two goals and assists in the Euros. In this season he reached two finals and won one of them.
Rodri once again showed why he is the best defensive midfielder in the world. He narrowly won the league with Manchester City and then won the Euros with Spain.
He was also crowned player of the tournament at the EUROS. As a defensive midfielder he recorded 23 goals and assists in all competitions for Manchester City and 1 goal in the Euros for champions Spain.
It is almost impossible to separate these three superstars when you consider the high level they all performed at last season but Jude Bellingham stands out amongst the three.
In his first season for Real Madrid, which is universally seen as the greatest club in the world, he stood up and became their biggest and best player. Scoring in crucial games, playing as a false nine despite being a midfielder and being Real Madrid's top goal scorer in La Liga are all reasons why the England star should be anointed with the greatest individual football award in the world.
He didn't crumble under the pressure but instead became a pivotal player for Ancelotti's team. Not only that but for England he has been an immovable force. His performances in the Euros, friendlies and qualifiers were just the same; he shows up when England need him.
Compared to his main rivals for the award, Bellingham has delivered on a more consistent basis for both club and country.
Vinicius Jr. didn't quite manage to put his country on his shoulders, as Brazil were beaten on penalties by Uruguay in the Copa America quarter-finals.
On the other side of the coin, Rodri absolutely managed to take his country to the very top, winning Player of the Tournament in a winning Euros campaign. But on the club side, it's difficult to contemplate a Manchester City player winning the Ballon d'Or while such a significant set of charges hang over the team.
So by process of elimination, Jude Bellingham may well be the primary pick, especially if it's down to how well the nominees have carried their teams through the season.
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