“He has to show his abilities every single weekend” - Emmanuel Petit names 3 players who could prevent Cole Palmer from winning Ballon d’Or

Emmanuel Petit has named Lamine Yamal, Vinicius Jr. and Kylian Mbappe as the three players who can stop Cole Palmer from winning the Ballon d'Or. He believes that the Chelsea star has been at his best and will be in the mix for the French Football Award in the next two years.

Speaking on talkSPORT, Petit said Palmer needs to continue his form every week and doing the same in the UEFA Champions League next season will be crucial. He added that the Chelsea star should also do well for the England national side.

"[Lamine] Yamal at Barcelona, Vinicius or maybe [Kylian] Mbappe, if he comes back [to form]," Petit said.

"He [Palmer] has to show his abilities every single weekend. This is what he’s doing right now. He’s been playing like that now for 16 months already. If he wants to reach his dream, he has to do that on the highest level. Which means the Champions League and as well with the national team," he added.

Cole Palmer has scored 36 goals and assisted 21 times since moving to Chelsea last season. He has played 62 matches for the Blues, but was not picked in most of the matches for the national team when Gareth Southgate was in charge.

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Cole Palmer compared to Ballon d'Or winners by Emmanuel Petit

Emmanuel Petit has claimed that Cole Palmer has the capability to change the game on his own. He stated that the Chelsea players want to give him the ball at every opportunity, adding:

"He can change the game any time he wants. Every time he gets the ball, you get a feeling he can have an impact straight away on the result. You can see that every time he gets the ball, all his teammates want to play with him, the movement around him. You can see the opponents as well, every time Cole Palmer gets the ball, you can feel the opponent is stressed."

Comparing him to former Ballon d'Or winners Rivaldo and Zinedine Zidane, Petit said:

"I’ve met different players, top players with the same abilities and personality on the pitch. For example, I played with Rivaldo at Barcelona, and Zidane in the national team. Every time we used to give them the ball, it changed something on the pitch. It brings more confidence from the teammates because you want to play with those kinds of players, you want to bring movement around them and you want to be part of it with them."

Zidane won the Ballon d'Or in 1998, while Rivaldo won it in 1999.