Cristiano Ronaldo has tipped Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland, Jude Bellingham and Lamine Yamal to be long-term rivals for the Ballon d’Or – and said his victory in 2008 while he was at Manchester United gave him the belief he could excel at Real Madrid.
All four have been named on the 30-player longlist for the 2024 men’s award and are hoping to follow in the footsteps of five-time winner Ronaldo, who last lifted the trophy in 2017.
“In my opinion, he can be the Golden Ball winner for the [foreseeable] years,” Ronaldo said on his YouTube channel, speaking to former United team-mate Rio Ferdinand about Mbappe.
“It will be him, probably Haaland, Bellingham, Lamine. This new generation has a lot of potential. I believe [Mbappe] will do very well [at Real Madrid].”
They’re all here!
But… who should win it? #ballondor pic.twitter.com/SrkHBrJtuI
— Ballon d’Or (@ballondor) September 4, 2024
Mbappe to ‘show everything’ at Madrid
Ronaldo moved to Real Madrid in 2009 for a then-record £80 million from Manchester United, scoring 450 goals in 438 appearances to become the club’s all-time top scorer before leaving for Juventus in 2018.
“It was pressure, but at the same time I believed in myself,” he recalled. “I said listen, if I was the best player in the Premier League and I won the Golden Ball at Manchester United and the Champions League, I knew I would do well.
“I believed in my skills and talent. It was difficult because it’s a different country; the adaptation, I was still young at 24. In the same way, I was very positive.
“It was the best club in the world I wanted to make history, like I did at Manchester United. I liked to prove people wrong from what they are thinking.
1️⃣ day, 1️⃣ nominee
🏴 Jude Bellingham
Real Madrid#ballondor
3 h pic.twitter.com/FCDWk9gX7R
— Ballon d’Or (@ballondor) September 5, 2024
“The structure of the club is nice – it’s good, it’s solid. They have…
Source link : https://www.101greatgoals.com/football/ballon-dor-2024-ronaldo-mbappe-haaland-bellingham-yamal/
Author : Ben Miller
Publish date : 2024-09-10 16:18:37
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