5 dark horses who could win the Ballon d'Or in the future
The Ballon d'Or is without doubt the most prestigious individual honour in football. While the distinguished award has changed many hands, we've gotten used to seeing Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo confine it to a battle between themselves.
Luka Modric is the only player to have broken the Ronaldo-Messi duopoly over the Ballon d'Or. The Croatian international won the award in 2018 before Messi recaptured it in 2019. With both Ronaldo and Messi walking into the twilight of their careers, we are soon going to have a vacant throne.
Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe won't be alone in the Ballon d'Or race in the future
The likes of Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland are viewed as the successors to Ronaldo and Messi. There are a few other young players who have already earned the 'world-class' tag. But today, we're not going to look at them.
We will be looking at five players who are pretty incredible at what they do but are not exactly fancied to be future Ballon d'Or winners. Let's not waste more time and dive right in.
#5 Mason Mount (Chelsea)
The footballing world is well aware of the fact that Chelsea have a world-class youth academy. But bankrolled by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, Chelsea have consistently looked for solutions outside.
Mason Mount is a welcome aberration of that trend. The young Englishman is a hard-working, technically sound midfielder with excellent close control and dribbling ability. He also possesses good acceleration which he uses to create or move into space when faced with one-on-one situations.
The 22-year-old has showcased great improvement at a steady rate since breaking onto the first team set up in the 2019-20 season. He played a starring role in Chelsea's UEFA Champions League triumph in the 2020-21 season as well.
He is already one of the best playmakers in the Premier League at the age of 22. If Mount keeps growing at the rate we've seen him do over the past few seasons, he could very well be in the running for the Ballon d'Or by the time he hits his peak.
#4 Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain)
The fact that Gianluigi Donnarumma is still only 22-years-old beggars belief. He has been performing at the highest level for six years. Donnarumma has now joined a star-studded Paris Saint-Germain side that could very well be the vehicle that takes him closer to his Ballon d'Or ambitions.
The Italian international is one of the best goalkeepers on the planet and was the hero of the Euro 2020 penalty shootout for the Azzurri against England. Donnarumma was also picked as the Player of the Tournament at Euro 2020.
He already showcases maturity way beyond his age with his discipline, intelligence and decision-making earning him plenty of praise. Donnarumma is also a wonderful shot-stopper. His ball handling, agility and command over his box are all virtues that great goalkeepers have possessed.