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On January 6, a shocking revelation was made by French media outlets Mediapart and Le Monde that Paris Saint-Germain officials were allegedly involved in a lobbying attempt to help Lionel Messi win the 2021 Ballon d'Or.
According to documents uncovered by the IGPN police officers, it was found that PSG and former editor-in-chief of France Football, Pascal Ferre, had maintained 'very close ties'. Ferre had also been in charge of the organization of the Ballon d'Or gala, which is France Football's coronation of the best player in the world from the previous season.
The documents suggest that Ferre received several 'gifts' from PSG officials in an attempt to win Messi his 7th Ballon d'Or during his PSG tenure. These gifts included VIP tickets at the Parc des Princes for multiple games, a round-trip business flight on Qatar Airways (a title sponsor of PSG) paid for by the Government of Qatar in March 2021, and many other 'perks'.
In the investigation, the name of the former director of PSG, Jean-Martial Ribes, who was indicted for 'corruption' and 'influence trafficking' among many other crimes, comes up several times. Current PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi's name also appears many times.
Messi went on to win his 8th Ballon d'Or in 2023 after winning the 2022 World Cup and etching his name in history, but after moving to Inter Miami.
Ballon d'Or 2024 sweepstakes: No Messi or Ronaldo?
We might be entering a whole new era in Ballon d'Or history, as the award is now jointly presented with UEFA. With Lionel Messi playing very few games in 2023 as compared to previous years and Cristiano Ronaldo playing outside of Europe, who might emerge as the Ballon d'Or candidates for 2024?
One obvious answer is Erling Haaland. A treble-winner in 2022-23 with Manchester City, he has continued his rich vein of form, scoring goals for fun this season as well. He has 19 goals and four assists in 22 games across all competitions, with Manchester City looking poised to lift a whole heap of trophies this season as well.
His main competitor would be Kylian Mbappe, but his success really depends on how far he can fire PSG in the Champions League.
He is dominating proceedings so far with 22 goals and two assists in 23 games across all competitions, and has already added a Trophee des Champions to his cabinet this season, scoring in the final. This could very well be the year in which he wins his first Ballon d'Or title.
A sleeper candidate for the crown is Jude Bellingham. At only 20 years of age, he has completely transformed himself into one of the best players in the world after joining Real Madrid in the summer.
Known for his distribution, vision and determination in his time at Borussia Dortmund, Jude added a whole new dimension to his play, bagging 17 goals and 5 assists in 22 games this season. He is already one of the most complete footballers and looks set to dominate the footballing scene for years to come.
