Euro 2020: 5 players who could win the Ballon d'Or with a good performance in the tournament
Euro 2020 is one of the biggest football tournaments in the world. The continental competition was last held in 2016 and Portugal emerged as champions after beating France in a hard-fought final. The top European players will be hoping to put on a great display at Euro 2020.
Winning trophies goes a long way towards winning the most prestigious individual award in football. Scoring a lot of goals or providing an abundance of assists won't alone cut it when it comes to winning the Ballon d'Or.
Great performances on a stage as big as Euro 2020 could seriously boost a player's chances of winning the most coveted individual award in football.
Euro 2020 will play a key role in the Ballon d'Or race
Almost all the top European footballing nations have Ballon d'Or contenders this time around. Players will be focused on getting the best results for their national sides but the better they do, the more clout they will gain in the race for the Ballon d'Or.
Without further ado, let's take a look at five players who could win the Ballon d'Or with a good performance in the tournament.
#5 Robert Lewandowski - Poland/Bayern Munich
Robert Lewandowski is inarguably the best striker in world football right now. Poland have a pretty solid squad as well. We would even go as far as to suggest that they could be the darkhorses of Euro 2020. If his teammates can provide adequate service to Lewandowski, Poland will thrive.
The 31-year-old won the European Golden Shoe by a 11-goal margin. He scored 41 goals for Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga in the 2020-21 season while Lionel Messi, who came second in the race for the award, scored 30 in La Liga. The Polish international scored 48 goals in 40 appearances across all competitions for the Bavarians this past season.
Poland have been drawn with Slovakia, Sweden and Spain in Group E and are expected to get through to the knockout stage without much hassle. If Lewandowski can inspire them to a lengthy run at Euro 2020, the Bundesliga champion would boost his chances of winning the Ballon d'Or.
#4 Ruben Dias - Portugal/Manchester City
Premier League Player of the Year Ruben Dias has been a revelation since joining Manchester City in the summer of 2020. Over the course of the 2020-21 season, we've got to witness why Pep Guardiola wanted to shell out €68 million to sign him from Benfica.
Dias immediately improved Manchester City's defence. He also struck up a wonderful partnership at the heart of their backline with John Stones. In 32 Premier League appearances, Dias helped Manchester City keep 15 cleansheets.
He will now line up alongside Pepe at the center of Portugal's defence. Dias is part of one of the strongest Portugal sides in recent history and there is no doubt that he will have a huge role to play in dictating their fortunes at Euro 2020.
If he does in fact turn in colossal performances at Euro 2020, he will have amplified his chances of winning the Ballon d'Or.