Ballon d’Or Betting Odds

Stephen Welch / 12:51 PM GMT • 28th October, 2024

4 minutes

Below you’ll find the latest Ballon d’Or odds as well as full details of Monday’s ceremony.

The world’s best footballer will be crowned on Monday evening with the Ballon d’Or ceremony set to be held at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris. For the first time since 2003 neither Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo are amongst the 30-man shortlist and in the additional absence of both Luka Modric and Karim Benzema, we are guaranteed a first-time winner of the award on Monday. Below you’ll find the latest Ballon d’Or odds courtesy of our betting partners at Ladbrokes as well as full details of Monday’s ceremony.

Ballon d’Or: A Brief History

The Ballon d’Or, undoubtedly the most prestigious individual award in world football, was established back in 1956. Initially open to European players, the inaugural winner of the award was Sir Stanley Matthews of Blackpool and England before a sequence of three straight wins for Real Madrid (Alfredo Di Stefano (twice) and Raymond Kopa).

Johan Cruyff became the first back-to-back winner of the award in 1973 and 1974. Having also won the 1971 Ballon d’Or, Cruyff was also the first three-time winner of the award. Michel Platini became the first player to win three successive Ballon d’Or awards between 1983 and 1985.

In recent times, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have dominated the award, collectively winning 13 of the last 15. The only players other than Messi and Ronaldo to have won the award since 2007 are Luka Modric (2018) and Karim Benzema (2022)

2024 Ballon d’Or Shortlist

Market Leaders

There are five players currently available at single-digit odds including two members of Spain’s Euro 2024 winning squad and three of Real Madrid’s UEFA Champions League / La Liga double winners from last season. Vinicius Jr. is hoping to become the first Brazilian since Kaka in 2007 to win the award following his starring role in Real Madrid’s superb 2023/24 campaign. Vinicius Jr. finished the season with 24 goals in all competitions including a brace in the UEFA Champions League semi-final, the match winner in the final against Borussia Dortmund and a Spanish Super Cup hat-trick against Barcelona.

Rodri has been the stand-out player for club and country over the past couple of seasons and is undoubtedly the best holding midfielder of his generation. Rodri helped steer Manchester City to a record-breaking fourth successive Premier League title before winning Euro 2024 with Spain. Rodri was named Player of the Tournament at Euro 2024. However, no European Championship Player of the tournament has followed up by claiming the Ballon d’Or in the same year since Matthias Sammer in 1996.

Jude Bellingham enjoyed a superb debut season at Real Madrid but we feel he probably needed England to win Euro 2024 if he was to finish above Vinicius Jr. and Rodri in this year’s Ballon d’Or standing. Euro 2024 Young Player of the Year, Lamine Yamal enjoyed a real breakthrough season at Barcelona and the 17-year-old has continued that excellent form into this season. It’s probably too soon for Yamal to claim the top award but he’s probably a shoo-in for the Kopa Trophy - the award given to the best player aged 21 or under. Dani Carvajal seems an unlikely winner but his odds of 8/1 serves as a reminder of just how good a year the Real Madrid and Spain full-back has enjoyed. Carvajal scored the opening goal of the UEFA Champions League final and finished in the Team of the Season in both the Champions League and La Liga. Carvajal would then go on to enjoy Euro 2024 glory with Spain.

Ballon d’Or Odds

(courtesy of Ladbrokes)