Ballon d'Or 2024 results leaked, rumored top 12 standings based on voting points come to light

Spanish newspaper Marca have leaked the Ballon d'Or 2024 results, with Vinicus Jr of Real Madrid being heavily tipped to win his first award. Although the ceremony is expected to take place on Monday, October 28, the newspaper has already leaked the results in an unconfirmed list, according to SPORTbible.

Madrid's Vinicius scored 26 goals and bagged 11 assists in 39 games across competitions last season, winning LaLiga, the UEFA Champions League and the Supercopa de Espana. The Brazilian had been heavily touted by media and fans to win the most coveted individual prize in football.

The Ballon d'Or rankings have been made via voting points, the newspaper said. While Vinicius came on top of it with 630 points, Manchester City's defensive midfielder Rodri came second with 576. Vinicius' Real Madrid teammate Jude Bellingham reportedly came in third after the Spain superstar, who is currently injured.

Another Madrid player, Kylian Mbappe, who is one of the greatest players of this generation, is tipped to come fourth. Harry Kane and Erling Haaland, of Bayern Munich and Manchester City, respectively, are expected to come fifth and sixth. The latter result is a shocker given how good a season Haaland had last year.

Barcelona's star attacker Lamine Yamal will also feature in the top 12 as will Phil Foden, Dani Olmo, Florian Wirtz, Dani Carvajal and Antonio Rudiger. Yamal's ascension is no surprise to those who watched him help lead Spain to the 2024 European Championship title earlier this year.

Ballon d'Or is an award given by the French magazine France Football

The Ballon d'Or is an award given by the French sports magazine France Football. It honors the player who has performed the best over the course of the previous season in world football. The award was conceived by sports journalists Gabriel Hanot and Jacques Ferran and has been in place since 1956.

Former rivals Cristiano Ronaldo (5) and Lionel Messi (8) have both won a combined 13 Ballons d'Or. Although it was originally conceived to reward just European footballers, it was thrown open to players across the world in 2007. Only football journalists are allowed to vote on the winner of the award.