The year was 2004 and AC Milan icon Andriy Shevchenko claimed his first and only Ballon d’Or award as the then 28-year-old became Pavel Nedved’s successor after an unforgettable 2003-2004 season. Organised by France Football since 1956, the star-studded nominee list of the Ballon d’Or featured a young Cristiano Ronaldo, who finished ahead of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Kaka, Luis Figo, David Beckham and Paolo Maldini. Manchester United’s prodigal son bagged the 12th spot in his Ballon d’Or debut. Ronaldo then went on to stage an epic rivalry with Lionel Messi as the two behemoths turned the Ballon d’Or race into a near-two-way contest at their careers’ peak.

Ballon d’Or arch-rivals Messi and Ronaldo lifted the Golden Ball a combined 13 times from the 2008 edition. Securing his first nomination in 2006, Messi sealed his first Ballon d’Or title in 2009 to kickstart his four-year streak of winning the Golden Ball. The record-time winner is also the reigning Ballon d’Or champion. Messi missed the cut in 2022 but the Argentine stalwart masterminded La Albiceleste’s third FIFA World Cup triumph in the same year to stake claim on the Ballon d’Or trophy in 2023. A year later, neither Messi nor Ronaldo have earned the Golden Ball call-up for the first time since 2003.

Changing of the guards is imminent in Paris as France Football and UEFA will crown the successor of Messi at the 2024 Ballon d’Or awards. Created by France Football magazine, UEFA and Groupe Amaury will co-organise the renowned Ballon d’Or 2024 on 28 October at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris. First awarded to England great Stanley Matthews in 1956, legends of the beautiful game including Eusebio, Bobby Charlton, George Best, Johan Cruyff, Franz Beckenbauer, Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane have all won lifted the famous trophy in the past. Who is next?

Mbappe vs Haaland: No podium finish for world-class strikers

Though Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe is featured in the top 30 list, the new galactico of Los Blancos might finish behind Man City forward Haaland. Smashing records at Etihad, Haaland finished the 2023-2024 season with a Premier League title and consecutive Golden Boot. Netting 38 goals last season, the goal machine is the quickest player in the Premier League’s history to 50 goals. Placed 18th in the list of all-time goal-getters in the history of the Champions League, Haaland is the youngest to smash 40 goals in the celebrated tournament. However, a fruitful campaign in top-flight leagues doesn’t guarantee a Golden Ball this year. Haaland failed to fire for Man City against Real Madrid while French forward Mbappe guided Paris Saint Germain (PSG) to the semi-finals of the Champions League. Free-scoring Mbappe dumped Barcelona out of the Champions League but the France captain struggled to engineer PSG’s comeback against last season’s Champions League runners-up Dortmund in the semi-finals. At the UEFA Euro, Mbappe’s France side was eliminated by eventual champions Spain in the semi-finals.

Why is Vinicius leading the Ballon d’Or race?

Vinicius had a false start in his Ballon d’Or bid last season. The Brazilian superstar was missing in action when Carlo Ancelotti-coached Madrid were desperate to crown Karim Benzema‘s heir at the Bernabeu. Regaining top form in the same injury-marred season, Real Madrid’s No.7 scored a hat-trick against Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup final. Vinicius was also the ‘Real deal’ at the Champions League. The Los Blancos winger was instrumental in the semi-final win over Bayern Munich. Fresh from powering Real Madrid to a record-extending La Liga title, on-song Vinicius scored the winner against Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League final. In his comeback season, Vinicius netted 26 times and chipped in with 12 assists. Adding crucial titles to his Real Madrid cabinet, Vinicius made a quiet exit from the international stage. The Real Madrid superstar earned a brace against Paraguay in the Copa America group stage. Suspended from the quarter-finals against Uruguay, Vinicius was a mere spectator as the Golden Ball candidate saw Selecao bow out of the competition on penalties.

Please, make way for Rodri

Despite being the best holding midfielder in the world, why cerebral Spaniard Rodri is still not heavily tipped to win the Golden Ball this year? A serious contender for the prestigious award last year, Rodri won the treble with Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City. However, Rodri was upstaged by Erling Haaland with his 52-goal contribution in 53 games. The former Borussia Dortmund forward was second only to Messi as the FIFA World Cup 2022 winner took home his record-eighth Ballon d’Or title in 2023.

Rodri has made it to the nominee list on the back of an impressive unbeaten run with Man City. Did you know? Guardiola’s men lost all of their three matches in the Premier League last season with Rodri being suspended. The Rodri-starrer Man City side last lost a Premier League game in February 2023. The Spanish international didn’t concede a single defeat at the UEFA Champions League last season. Man City were outclassed by eventual champions Real Madrid on penalties in the quarter-finals after two thrilling draws. Labelled as the ‘perfect computer’ by Spain manager Luis de la Fuente, Rodri ended a trophy-laden season with La Roja defeating England in the UEFA Euro 2024 final. “Please, give him the Ballon d’Or now!” – what Guardiola said about Rodri, who was also named the Player of the Tournament at the Euros.

Golden Ball for ‘golden boy’ Bellingham

Just like Mbappe, playmaker Jude Bellingham was on target for Real Madrid on his debut. Assisting Real Madrid’s goal-getters Rodrygo and Vinicius throughout the season, Bellingham donned the famous No.5 jersey and boy did he do justice to Zidane’s old shirt which came with a whopping £100 million ($131m) price tag at the Santiago Bernabeu. Coining Madrid’s sucker punch against Dortmund in the Champions League final, the Englishman also propelled Los Blancos to Clasico wins over FC Barcelona in the La Liga last season. A central midfielder with his shooting boots on across competitions, Bellingham contributed 27 goals for Madrid and England. With Vinicius missing a major chunk of the 2023-2024 season through injury, Bellingham spearheaded the title bid for Los Blancos. Clutch for club and country, Bellingham produced 17 assists and headlined the UEFA Euro final. Sure a silver medal at Euros after a near-perfect season can’t cost Jude a Golden Ball?

Real Madrid face Real Betis at the Bernabeu ahead of the international break.© AFP

Holders Real Madrid will face Liverpool away and host Borussia Dortmund in a repeat of last season’s final in the league stage of the new-look Champions League, the draw for which took place on Thursday. Every team will play eight games against eight different opponents in the new format of Europe’s elite club competition, with all 36 clubs now pooled together into one league rather than split into groups. Madrid, who have signed France superstar Kylian Mbappe since winning a record-extending 15th European Cup, will also notably play AC Milan at home and will go to Atalanta.

Real beat last season’s Europa League winners Atalanta in the UEFA Super Cup in Warsaw earlier this month.

Liverpool, who are back in the Champions League after a one-season absence, will also notably meet Milan and take on tournament debutants Girona.

However, supporters of the Anfield club will perhaps be most excited about the prospect of hosting German champions Bayer Leverkusen, coached by former Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso.

Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, winners of the competition in 2023, will play at home to Italian champions Inter Milan and go to both Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus.

However, they were also handed more comfortable opponents including Club Brugge, Sparta Prague and Slovan Bratislava, who have never played in the modern Champions League proper.

Other standout head-to-heads will include Bayern Munich against both PSG and Barcelona, and Arsenal against Inter and Paris.

The number of clubs in the Champions League has increased from 32 in the past, with the 36 participants split into four seeded pots of nine for the draw.

Every team faces two teams from each of the four pots, one at home and one away. The first matches will be played on September 17, 18 and 19.

The two extra matchdays in the new league phase will take place in January, at the end of which the top eight clubs in the 36-team classification will advance directly to the last 16.

Those ranked between ninth and 24th place will go through to play a play-off round from which will emerge the remaining eight sides advancing to the last 16.

The bottom 12 in the league phase will be eliminated altogether, with no clubs parachuting down into the Europa League as in the past.

The Europa League and third-tier Conference League, the draws for which take place on Friday, will also now feature 36 clubs, although the latter competition will involve only six matchdays in the league phase.

File image of UEFA Champions League trophy.© AFP

A new era in European club football begins on Thursday when the draw takes place in Monaco for an expanded UEFA Champions League featuring a radically changed format. European football’s governing body is selling what it describes as “a thrilling new future” for the game on the continent with more teams playing more matches, and more prize money on offer. UEFA needs to generate hype around the new format, because there is a risk — in the beginning at least — that fans will find it confusing compared to the old model.

For the last 21 years, the Champions League had consisted of a group stage in which 32 clubs were split into eight groups of four, each playing six games. The top two in each group qualified for the knockout phase.

The new version will feature 36 clubs with everyone playing eight matches, but all teams pooled together into one giant league rather than in groups.

Clubs will still be split into four seeded pots of nine teams, with every participant given two opponents from each pot.

The top eight in the final ranking go through to the last 16, while the next 16 sides advance to an intermediate play-off round and the remainder go out.

The new format was introduced against the backdrop of the threat by Europe’s biggest clubs to break away and form their own Super League.

But UEFA are also hoping the format can be a solution to the problem of competitive imbalance in the sport which was making the group stage more predictable.

“The new format will introduce a better competitive balance between all the teams, with the possibility for each team to play opponents of a similar competitive level throughout the league phase,” UEFA say.

Financial rewards

What the changes will certainly not address are concerns about too much football being played and damaging the quality as a result.

The increasing demands on players, and the lack of rest as a result, were cited as reasons why many matches at Euro 2024 proved disappointing.

The new Champions League, in a season which is also set to finish with the first expanded version of FIFA’s Club World Cup, will feature a total of 144 games in the group stage, up from 96 before.

The financial rewards are greater, however, with UEFA’s total prize pot for the Champions League rising by about 25 percent to almost 2.5 billion euros ($2.79 billion).

The winners of the competition can pocket over 86 million euros just in prize money, not including bonuses of 700,000 euros for every point gained in the league phase or income from television.

Real Madrid were the winners last season, raising the trophy for the sixth time in the last 11 years.

The addition of Kylian Mbappe to their squad means they will hope to go all the way again, and emerge victorious in the final in Munich on May 31, next year.

Newcomers

This season’s Champions League will include newcomers such as Girona from Spain, while Bologna of Italy take part in Europe’s elite club competition for the first time in 60 years.

Brest of France had never qualified for any European competition before, but now take part after finishing third in Ligue 1 last season — taking advantage of the extra place handed to France as the fifth-ranked league in Europe.

As for the other additional places, one goes to a national champion who will emerge from the qualifying rounds, while Italy and Germany get an extra team each because of the performances of their clubs in Europe last season.

UEFA said the draw itself will be a “hybrid” affair, between the manual drawing of balls and the use of software, having calculated that doing it all by hand would take more than three hours.

The Europa League and Conference League, the draws for which will both take place on Friday, will also now feature 36 teams, although there will be only six matches for clubs in the league phase of the latter competition.

Spanish champions Real Madrid earned a 3-0 win over Real Valladolid in La Liga on Sunday as Kylian Mbappe made his Santiago Bernabeu bow without finding the net. Atletico Madrid comfortably beat last season’s surprise package Girona by the same scoreline later on in the capital. Madrid’s French striker Mbappe played at home for the first time in a Los Blancos shirt but was largely frustrated by Valladolid’s defence. Madrid midfielder Fede Valverde opened the scoring after 50 minutes and substitutes Brahim Diaz and debutant Endrick struck late on.

Without the injured Jude Bellingham Madrid created little in the first half but did enough after the break to earn their first win of the season, following an opening draw at Real Mallorca.

Still lacking fluency in attack, Carlo Ancelotti’s side stayed two points behind rivals Barcelona, who beat Athletic Bilbao on Saturday.

“We were too slow in the first half, the second half we were much more active, there was more movement, much faster with the ball,” said Ancelotti.

Real Valladolid set out to frustrate the champions in the summer heat and succeeded for 45 minutes.

Madrid came out with more bite in the second half and Valverde smashed home a vicious low free-kick with the help of a deflection to break the deadlock.

Endrick arrives

Mbappe blew a golden opportunity to get off the mark when Vinicius cut the ball across to him, but Estonian goalkeeper Karl Hein saved well.

The France captain had another chance on the counter-attack but fired  wide before being replaced by 18-year-old Brazilian forward Endrick.

Mbappe scored on his debut in a UEFA Super Cup triumph but in La Liga, has failed to score in his opening two matches.

“He’s a spectacular forward, very fast, moves well without the ball, attacks in behind, he had three or four chances (which were) created with his movement,” said Ancelotti.

“In this position, he will score like he always scores, I don’t think he needs to play from the left, in the centre in the end he will score goals.”

Diaz secured Madrid’s win with a neat lobbed finish and then teed up Endrick, who drilled home at the near post to celebrate his first appearance for the club in style.

“(Endrick) has got a lot of potential and for his goal he showed his quality,” added Ancelotti.

“He’s a centre-forward who plays in the box, in small spaces he’s very dangerous.”

Madrid signed Endrick from Palmeiras in 2022 but he arrived this summer, once old enough to move.

Atletico on song

Antoine Griezmann, Marcos Llorente and Koke‘s strikes helped Diego Simeone’s Atletico claim their first win of the campaign against Girona.

Julian Alvarez started for the Rojiblancos at their Metropolitano stadium while new arrival Conor Gallagher made his debut as a substitute after joining from Chelsea.

“The fans were really excited for this one, playing at home for the first time in some time, with new signings — a perfect night,” said Griezmann.

The hosts had control of the game as Michel Sanchez’s Girona, who finished third ahead of fourth-place Atletico last term, struggled to make an impact.

Griezmann put Atletico ahead shortly before the interval with a hard and low free-kick which caught goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga out.

Llorente increased the lead early in the second half with a thunderbolt from outside the area which flashed into the roof of the net.

Girona, who lost several key players in the summer,  have only one point from their first two matches.

Koke wrapped up Atletico’s win on the counter-attack in stoppage time when Llorente put the ball on a plate for him to finish.

“It’s a process, the season is long but we want to get to our best version as soon as we can,” said Girona midfielder Oriol Romeu.

Spanish champions Real Madrid earned a 3-0 win over Real Valladolid in La Liga on Sunday as Kylian Mbappe made his Santiago Bernabeu bow without finding the net. The French striker played at home for the first time in a Madrid shirt but was largely frustrated by Valladolid’s defence. Madrid midfielder Fede Valverde opened the scoring with a low deflected free-kick after 50 minutes and substitutes Brahim Diaz and debutant Endrick struck late on.

Madrid created little in the first half but did enough after the break to earn their first win of the season, following an opening draw at Real Mallorca.

Still lacking fluency in attack, Carlo Ancelotti’s side stayed two points behind rivals Barcelona, who beat Athletic Bilbao on Saturday.

Ancelotti brought in Arda Guler for the injured Jude Bellingham, expected to miss a month with a calf problem.

Real Valladolid were the only team in the division to keep a clean sheet in their opening fixture and from the start they set out to frustrate the champions.

Darwin Machis had a deflected effort whistle narrowly wide but otherwise it was all hands to the pump in defence for the visitors.

Aurelien Tchouameni fired over from long range as Madrid dominated possession without threatening in the Spanish capital’s summer heat.

Madrid came out with more bite in the second half and soon took the lead.

Valverde smashed home a vicious low free-kick with the help of a deflection to break the deadlock.

Madrid should have doubled their lead but Rodrygo misplaced his pass with Vinicius waiting in the middle ready to score.

Mbappe blew a golden opportunity to get off the mark when Vinicius cut the ball across to him, but Estonian goalkeeper Karl Hein saved well.

The France captain had another chance on the counter-attack but fired well wide before being replaced by 18-year-old Brazilian forward Endrick.

Mbappe made his dream switch to Madrid this summer at the end of his Paris Saint-Germain contract after years of links. He scored on his debut in a UEFA Super Cup triumph.

In La Liga, Mbappe has failed to score in his opening two matches as Ancelotti works on perfecting his set-up to get the best from the club’s attacking stars.

Diaz secured Madrid’s win with a neat lobbed finish after running on to a long ball from defender Eder Militao in the 88th minute.

In stoppage time the Spanish playmaker teed up Endrick who drilled home at the near post to celebrate his first appearance for the club in style.

Later Sunday Atletico Madrid host last season’s surprise package Girona among other fixtures.

Kylian Mbappe‘s La Liga debut for Real Madrid did not go as planned as Los Blancos drew at Mallorca last weekend, with coach Carlo Ancelotti believing the Spanish champions lacked “balance”. The French superstar striker will make his first home appearance for Los Blancos at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday against promoted side Real Valladolid, owned by former Madrid forward and Brazil great Ronaldo.

Mbappe is on course to enjoy a similarly sizable legacy in football, but is hoping to make a far greater impact at Madrid than Ronaldo was able to, during the club’s ‘galactico’ era.

Ronaldo won just one La Liga title and failed to lift the Champions League during five seasons in the Spanish capital between 2002-07.

One of the biggest problems during that period was a top-heavy side which boasted several superstar attackers but lost lynchpin Claude Makelele.

Ancelotti has lined up with Mbappe, Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo Goes and Jude Bellingham in the 2-0 UEFA Super Cup win over Atalanta and the 1-1 Mallorca draw, but criticised his team’s balance after both matches

“We just had to do better, with more attitude, you can learn from these games – it’s clear where the problem is,” Ancelotti told reporters last week.

“We need to defend better, we need more balance.”

One issue for Madrid is that Mbappe, Vinicius and Rodrygo all prefer to be shifted towards the left flank.

Another is that by playing all three forwards, Bellingham is pushed back into a midfield role, when it seems after last season’s superb debut campaign where he helped Madrid win La Liga and the Champions League, he is most content contributing in attacking areas.

“(Balance) is found by all players thinking the same thing – when it comes to getting the ball back we all have to think about it together,” continued the Italian coach.

“It’s a team problem that they didn’t understand was a key aspect in this game, Mallorca played a great game in a defensive sense, better than us.”

While visitors Real Valladolid, who beat fellow promoted side Espanyol in their first match, do not pose too much threat to Madrid on paper, the sooner Ancelotti can get his team firing on all cylinders the happier he will be.

After years of links to Madrid, Mbappe completed his dream move this summer at the end of his Paris Saint-Germain contract.

The forward clinically struck against Atalanta in Warsaw but was shut out by Mallorca and their goalkeeper Dominik Greif.

Mbappe will hope to mark his first Bernabeu appearance for Madrid with a goal, weeks after he was greeted there by over 80,000 fans at his presentation.

Once Madrid’s forwards are on song, they will be difficult for any side to stop.

“When I saw them running towards me, I just prayed to God and asked myself — ‘what am I doing here?'” admitted Mallorca defender Pablo Maffeo.

Madrid’s remarkable firepower could prove a double-edged sword with teams rising to the challenge of stopping the attacking quartet dubbed the “fantastic four”.

“We’re going to face the best team in the world, with one of the best coaches in history and the best attack in the world today,” said Valladolid coach Paulo Pezzolano.

“We know what we’re going to face, but we’re going there convinced that we’re going to compete and bring something back home, knowing that it’s difficult, but that we can do it.”

Player to watch: Julian Alvarez

The former Manchester City striker made his Atletico debut as a substitute at Villarreal in their opening fixture but could be given a bigger role against Girona on Sunday as he makes his first appearance at the Metropolitano stadium for Diego Simeone’s new-look Rojiblancos.

Key stats

0 – Real Valladolid were the only team in La Liga not to concede a goal in the opening round of fixtures

2 – With a brace against Valencia, Robert Lewandowski is the division’s top scorer

17 – French players appeared in week one, the most represented nationality behind 285 Spaniards

Fixtures

Friday (all times GMT)

Celta Vigo v Valencia (1700), Sevilla v Villarreal (1930)

Saturday

Osasuna v Real Malloca (1500), Barcelona v Athletic Bilbao (1700), Espanyol v Real Sociedad, Getafe v Rayo Vallecano (both 1930)

Sunday

Real Madrid v Real Valladolid (1500), Leganes v Las Palmas (1700), Alaves v Real Betis (1715), Atletico Madrid v Girona (1930)

Kylian Mbappe in action© AFP

Kylian Mbappe enjoyed a “great night” as he struck on his Real Madrid debut to help his new side claim a record sixth UEFA Super Cup with a 2-0 win over Atalanta on Wednesday in Warsaw. The superstar French forward has waited years to play for his dream club and after finally signing for Los Blancos this summer at the end of his Paris Saint-Germain deal, celebrated his first appearance with a goal. Fede Valverde broke the deadlock from close range for the Champions League holders in the 59th minute after the Italian Europa League winners held their own in the first half.

Madrid began to rack up the chances and Mbappe rifled home in the 68th minute after Jude Bellingham spotted his dart into space in the box to seal the victory.

“It was a great night, I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time, to play with this shirt, with this badge, for these fans,” Mbappe told Movistar, speaking in fluent Spanish.

Madrid’s triumph ensured coach Carlo Ancelotti equalled former Los Blancos coach Miguel Munoz on a joint-record 14 titles won at the helm of the club.

The Italian’s first task this season is designing a system that can get the best out of his array of attacking stars.

Mbappe began through the middle of Madrid’s forward line, flanked by Vinicius Junior on the left and Rodrygo Goes on the right, in the first look at how he might fit into Ancelotti’s plans this season.

As a result England international Bellingham played as part of the midfield trio rather than in the advanced position he began last season in to such devastating goalscoring effect.

“(Mbappe) has the quality to score a lot of goals,” Ancelotti told Movistar.

“What we have to look for is balance in the team — today we didn’t have that balance.”

Mbappe’s only chance in a tight first half arrived in the 15th minute but his shot from the middle of the box was well blocked by Isak Hien.

Gian Piero Gasperini’s Atalanta, appearing in their first Super Cup after stunning Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League final last season, came close to taking the lead when Eder Militao headed Marten de Roon’s cross ahead his own bar.

Bellingham was booked for a late challenge on Atalanta goalkeeper Juan Musso on a foray forward from midfield after taking a heavy touch to control a clever ball from Vinicius.

Rodrygo clipped the top of Atalanta’s crossbar just before the break after being teed up by Vinicius.

Madrid stopper Thibaut Courtois, who missed most of last season injured, produced a stunning one-handed save to tip over a Mario Pasalic header at the start of the second half.

Madrid broke the deadlock before the hour mark through Valverde, tapping home from close range while Atalanta’s defence worried about Mbappe, who was moving with more freedom.

Bellingham, increasingly influential, fed Vinicius, who cut the ball across goal for the Uruguayan midfielder to tap home.

Valverde, wearing the number eight shirt vacated by Toni Kroos who retired this summer, said he was “tremendously proud”.

“It’s motivating to inherit the number of a player I admire a lot, I dedicate the goal to him and to my wife,” said Valverde.

Vinicius should have doubled Madrid’s lead when sent through on goal but Musso tipped over his effort.

Swedish defender Hien blocked from Bellingham as Madrid sought a second and then Musso thwarted the former Borussia Dortmund man.

Mbappe eventually delivered it with a lethal finish after Bellingham, named player of the match, kept an attack alive and spotted the Frenchman’s clever movement.

The 25-year-old striker was given an ovation by Madrid’s fans after Ancelotti brought him off in the 83rd minute, likely the first of many.

Mbappe said that he expected to improve in the weeks ahead, with Madrid’s La Liga campaign starting on Saturday against Real Mallorca.

“I am sure we will get better and me first of all — but today is a positive step,” added the striker.

Rodrygo said Ancelotti had told the forwards to shift their positions frequently, something evident in the second half.

“The coach asked us to go changing positions a lot, or staying apart,” the Brazilian told Movistar.

“They were man marking, so we had to move and that’s what happened during the game.”