Vinicius favourite for Ballon d'Or in post-Messi/Ronaldo era / Photo: FRANCK FIFE - AFP/File
-
Quebec separatist premier sworn in without royal presence
-
Washington orders US embassy staff, families to leave Saudi Arabia
-
UAE nominates official to lead UN
-
Musk's SpaceX results lift global stock markets
-
NFL boss Goodell welcomes probe into Hurts medical care
-
NFL boss Goodell: Comfort level 'very high' for Paris game
-
Musk threatens Democrats teeing up congressional probes
-
Fernandes laments 'mood of defeat' as Man Utd crumble in Como
-
In the Mexican town that makes emblematic Day of the Dead garlands
-
Maradona doctor was made 'scapegoat' for his death, Argentine court told
-
Protests banned in parts of Paris as Macron swipes at Trump
-
Man Utd thrashed by Como in Champions League horror show
-
Judge orders Meta to pay $25 bn to New Mexico in Cambridge Analytica case
-
UN experts urge Meta to safeguard political expression in Brazil election
-
Champagne puts cork in project to expand production area
-
Websites go dark worldwide as AI exposes critical security flaws
-
Canadian publisher says novelist Orelien used AI to write novel
-
Defense in Maradona death trial seeks acquittal of doctor
-
Trump faces fresh questions over ties to 'humanitarian' Putin
-
Jansen, Rabada put South Africa in sight of win over Australia
-
Hansen back in Ireland squad for Nations Championship
-
Low Rhine weighed on German growth: central bank
-
Kremlin sees little 'substance' in Ukraine peace ideas
-
OpenAI says its AI agents disabled their own safety monitors
-
Top Arab-Israeli election candidate tells AFP Netanyahu win would be 'catastrophe'
-
Alldritt returns as France call up seven newcomers for Nations Championship
-
South African rugby player's death due to 'aortic dissection'
-
UN issues call to arms to combat off-the-charts El Nino
-
France's Macron lands in Riyadh on surprise 'solidarity' visit
-
Nigeria Ebola case matches DR Congo strain
-
Around the world, far right blames immigrants for French protests
-
Musk's SpaceX helps launch stock market gains
-
South Africa eases fuel pain as growth slows
-
Rose salutes Bournemouth's past heroes ahead of AC Milan clash
-
Woody Allen shoots new movie in Madrid
-
Argentina's Milei calls Spain PM Sanchez a 'dictator' in Madrid visit
-
Nvidia's Huang urges Europe to go all in on AI
-
Barca's Olmo injured for a month, misses Clasico
-
Five things to know as French bond yield tops 5%
-
Impacts of UK's new North Sea gas drilling
-
'Complete threat' Ngumoha excites Liverpool captain Van Dijk
-
Jansen takes five for South Africa as Australia forced to follow on
-
'The fishing's terrible': Deforestation devastates C.Africa river
-
Toulouse v Troyes Ligue 1 game postponed as France gripped by unrest
-
France's tourism sector worried about impact of riots
-
PSG winger Kvaratskhelia's season in doubt after torn ACL
-
Macron takes aim at Trump for using France riots for election gain
-
Putin, Witkoff meet in Russia for Ukraine war talks
-
North Korea says 'new firepower units' in place, loudspeakers to return
-
Musk's SpaceX helps fuel stock market gains
Vinicius favourite for Ballon d'Or in post-Messi/Ronaldo era
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.
The men's shortlist for the 2023/24 edition of the prestigious individual award is the first since 2003 to feature neither Lionel Messi nor Cristiano Ronaldo who hoovered up the prize 13 times between them.
Vinicius, the man who inherited Ronaldo's number seven shirt at Real Madrid, has been tipped by many pundits to succeed 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 (the Ballon d'Or)," 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."
If the 24-year-old Brazilian showed why he is expected to take Messi's crown in Madrid's stunning comeback midweek, he was less influential in Saturday's La Liga Clasico as Real were comprehensively beaten 4-0 by Barcelona.
But Vinicius' six goals last term were vital as Madrid lifted their 15th Champions League, with the attacker scoring a brace in the semi-final and a goal in the final.
Vinicius has also become a figurehead in the fight against racism after being targeted on numerous occasions since arriving in Spain in 2018.
He earned worldwide support in May 2023 when he squared off with Valencia supporters after suffering abuse at their Mestalla Stadium.
The players expected to challenge Vinicius for the Ballon d'Or are club-mate and England star Jude Bellingham, as well as Manchester City and Spain's Euro 2024-winning midfield general Rodri.
Also among the list of nominees are goal machines Erling Haaland, Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe.
Real Madrid right-back Dani Carvajal has an outside shot, after a season which saw him lift the treble of La Liga, Champions League and European Championship.
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.
The Ballon d'Or ceremony will take place in the centre of Paris on Monday where the winners, as decided by an international jury of football journalists, will be announced.
P.Santos--AMWN
