On Monday, (today) the winner of the 2024 Ballon d’Or award, will finally be announced.

For the first time in its history, neither Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo were included in the 30-man shortlist.

Messi (eight) and Ronaldo (five) both won the award 13 times in 16 years.

Instead, this time around, there will be new contenders. Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid), Rodri (Manchester City), Kylian Mbappe (PSG/Real Madrid) and Erling Halaand (Manchester City) fight for the prize.

Ahead of the ceremony at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris tonight, DAILY POST takes a look at the players that are likely to make the top three.

Vinicius Junior: The 24-year-old, who inherited Ronaldo’s no.7 shirt at Real Madrid, is the hot favourite to succeed Messi. This follows an impressive season where he won the LaLiga and Champions League titles with Los Blancos. Vinicius scored 24 goals and provided 11 assists and will become the next Brazilian to win the prize since Kaka.

Rodri: There have been a lot of calls for the Manchester City midfielder to win the Ballon d’Or this year. But the Spaniard, who won the Premier League title and Euro 2024, is likely to finish second behind Vinicius Jr. It would be a tough one for Rodri, who is considered the best in his position and has become an influential member of Pep Guardiola’s squad.

Bellingham: The England midfielder looks like the player that will make up the top three, ahead of Real team-mates Dani Carvajal and Kylian Mbappe. Bellingham enjoyed a fruitful debut season with the LaLiga champions and played in the Euro 2024 final with the Three Lions. Although he is yet to score a single goal this season, the 21-year-old has done enough to be a finalist for this award.