Manchester United misfit Jadon Sancho believes that there are two incredibly talented players who are currently “fighting” it out for France Football’s sought-after Ballon d’Or award.
Barcelona icon Lionel Messi and Manchester United legend Cristiano Ronaldo dominated the Ballon d’Or podium during the peak of their powers.
Real Madrid star Luka Modric broke the 10-year dominance Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo had over France Football’s prized award with his 2018 win.
Since Luka Modric was crowned the Ballon d’Or winner, Ronaldo has failed to lift the award and last featured in the top three rankings in 2019.
Messi, on the other hand, has added to his Ballon d’Or haul and captured three more awards since 2018, including lifting the most recent addition of the award.
The 36-year-old Inter Miami superstar scooped his record-extending eighth Ballon d’Or award ahead of Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe in 2023.
Ronaldo has the second most wins in history with five Ballon d’Ors, despite once being tied with Messi for the most award wins.
But the Ronaldo and Messi era in football continues to wind down and neither the former United star nor the Barcelona captain are expected to win the 2024 award.
Sancho rules out one player for Ballon d’Or
Jadon Sancho has appeared to rule out former Tottenham striker Harry Kane from the race for the 2024 Ballon d’Or award.
Harry Kane, who was heavily linked with Manchester United last summer, left Spurs and completed a blockbuster move to Bayern Munich in 2023.
The 30-year-old England captain was in scintillating form in his debut season in Germany, with Kane scoring 44 times in 45 appearances for Bayern Munich.
Despite his impressive tally of scoring 36 times in 32 league appearances, Kane watched on as Bayern fell well short of retaining the Bundesliga title.
The former Tottenham star ended the season without any major silverware, despite his stunning run of form for Bayern in the 2023-24 season.
Kane could still lift major silverware this summer if England win Euro 2024, but Sancho feels the Bayern star is currently out of the running for Ballon d’Or.
Speaking to CNN Sports, Sancho said: “Harry Kane due to the goals he scored and I think if he’d [have] won trophies this year, he would have definitely won the Ballon d’Or.”
Sancho’s two favourites for the Ballon d’Or
Sancho, who is on loan at Borussia Dortmund, believes that Real Madrid duo Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham are the two frontrunners to lift the Ballon d’Or award.
The 24-year-old United winger is expected to cross paths with Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham on Saturday in the Champions League final at Wembley.
Vinicius Junior has had an impressive campaign for Real Madrid, while former United target Bellingham has had a sensational impact in his first season at Los Blancos.
Sancho, who played alongside Bellingham for England and Borussia Dortmund, called the aforementioned Madrid duo his “very close friends.”
“Vinicius and Jude, they are both fighting right now [to see] who can win [the Ballon d’Or],” he said.
“Obviously, they are very close friends, so I’m not saying they are fighting, but they definitely could win it.”
Sancho admitted that Kylian Mbappe, who will leave Paris Saint-Germain this summer, could challenge for the Ballon d’Or if France win the Euros.
“Mbappe has had an excellent season again, if he won [the Champions League or the European Championships], he would be in the conversation,” he added.