Ballon d'Or organisers to implement rule change ahead of award ceremony - Reports

As per reports, the Ballon d'Or organizers are set to implement a new rule change ahead of the award ceremony. This will take place on October 28, merely weeks away, when the best male and female footballer in the world will be awarded.

Prior to this year's ceremony, the players who eventually win were usually told beforehand. This is because France Football - the organizing body - interviewed them ahead of the ceremony. However, this is about to change with the 2024 Ballon d'Or.

According to The Athletic's journalist Mario Corteganga (via SPORTBible), no such interviews will happen moving forward. The male and female players, who win the award, will find out on the day of the ceremony, rather than find out earlier and keep it a secret.

There are already reports that Real Madrid winger Vinicius Junior has been told he will win the Ballon d'Or this year. This is according to Spanish outlet Marca, who claim that the Brazil international will beat his teammates Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappe to the award.

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Club managers push for their players to win the 2024 Ballon d'Or

A number of club managers have spoken about their players potentially winning the Ballon d'Or this year. One such manager is Pep Guardiola, who has enjoyed success with Manchester City, thanks to midfield talisman Rodri.

The Spaniard was instrumental in their fourth consecutive Premier League title last season, while also helping Spain win Euro 2024. About Rodri's chances to win the award, Guardiola said (via the club's website):

“We would be delighted - he deserves it... Rodri has done not just one season, many seasons really good and the previous season was really good with the Premier League and the Euros winning with Spain... I would love one [City] player to win it because for players it means a lot. I would love it."

With seven Real Madrid players on the nomination list for the award, manager Carlo Ancelotti has also spoken about it. When he was asked for his opinion on who would win, he said (via GOAL):

"My opinion on who's gonna win, Vinicius Jr because he is a talented player. He did really well last season. It's true that Carvajal was also really well because Carvajal won the league, won the Champions League, scoring, and won the European Cup. And Jude did a fantastic season, winning the Champions League and winning the league."

Other Real Madrid players who were nominated include Federico Valverde, Kylian Mbappe, and Antonio Rudiger. Toni Kroos also got nominated for his last season in football with Los Blancos, winning the UEFA Champions League before he retired. He also won the LaLiga title and the Supercopa de Espana with the Spanish giants last season.