Former England international, Paul Merson has said the 2024 Ballon d’Or is going to be an interesting one.
He said with Euro 2024 and Copa America going on at the time that Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are now playing outside Europe, which brings so many other players into the equation.
Paul Merson, who played for Arsenal during his active days, said he judges players based on their performance for their country and not clubs, naming Diego Maradona as the greatest player.
“I judge players a lot based on how they fare at international tournaments and this is why I think Diego Maradona is the greatest-ever footballer,” he said, as quoted by Sportskeeda.com.
“If England win the Euros, Jude Bellingham will become the frontrunner for the award,” he added.
“I’m not saying this is a horrible way, but I don’t think Bellingham is the best footballer in the world and hasn’t been among the top 20 players at Euro 2024 so far, so it’ll be an interesting one.
“If Messi wins the Copa America, it could well go to him as the Ballon d’Or committee don’t know how to spell anyone else’s name barring Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. “
Paul Merson names greatest footballer ever, predicts winner of 2024 Ballon d’Or