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After a season headlined by him finally getting his hands on the World Cup, Lionel Messi took home his eighth Ballon d'Or after picking up the 2023 prize in Paris back in October. The footballing world has long since moved on, though, and now debate is raging as we gradually move towards knowing the identity of the 2024 winner.
It has been an intense race. Along with the usual domestic ups and downs, this is a campaign that has seen the majority of the globe's best players taking part in international tournaments, including the European Championship and Copa America this summer.
So after a year that was defined by the battle between Messi's tournament success for Argentina and Erling Haaland's season-long superiority at Manchester City, how much of a bearing on the 2024 Ballon d'Or race will those international competitions have? Meanwhile, could we see the first win from someone who plays their club football outside of Europe, as more and more of the game's biggest names head to up-and-coming leagues in other parts of the world?
GOAL has been here every step of the way to track the contenders for the biggest individual prize the game has to offer. So who do we think will come out on top? Step right in for the latest - and final - update of our Ballon d'Or 2024 Power Rankings...
Previous update: July 8, 2024. Players dropped out: Fede Valverde, Virgil van Dijk, Cody Gakpo & Jamal Musiala.