Dominick Scarpino

The Ballon d’Or award is given annually to the best male and female soccer players of that year. The selection process is very tedious. First there is a shortlist of 30 players who are decided on by the France Football publication. Next, 100 journalists are selected and asked to rank their top 5 players, with points being given in a 5-4-3-2-1 manner. After that, whoever has the most total points will be announced as the winner.

This year for the men’s, there are two primary front runners: Vinicius Jr. and Rodri. Vinicius Jr. had an incredible season for Real Madrid, winning the Champions League, La Liga, and the Supercopa in Spain. Personally, he had 26 goals and 12 assists in all competitions. He is most likely going to be the person that wins just because he was a crucial part of the team that won the Champions League, which is mostly how the trophy has been awarded in the past. Rodri is a very different player from Vinicius Jr. Rodri’s run in the rankings is mostly due to his success at the national level from the Spanish national team. That team won the Euros this past summer in Germany. While a part of the Manchester City squad, he was a crucial player in the team winning the Premier League, the UEFA Super Cup, and the FIFA Club World Cup. Individually, he had 12 goals and 15 assists in all competitions this year, which is another reason why Vinicius Jr. will most likely be the one who accepts the trophy on October 28.