The Golden Ball Award (QBV) has made great strides since its inception in 1956. Lionel Messi, who is honored in 2023, has set a record of 8 crowns, while Cristiano Ronaldo has many. Most nominated times (18 times).
However, those who wanted to know about the future of the award founded by France Football to honor the best player received a surprising answer from Artificial Intelligence (AI).
A Twitter account called Football Archive asked AI to predict the winners of the Ballon d’Or until 2038, and the results came up with a lot of talking points.
Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham is predicted to win the Ballon d’Or in 2024, and would be the first English player to win this award since Michael Owen in 2001 if that happens. Bellingham won the Kopa Trophy for under-21 players last year.
Kylian Mbappe, third on the list of Ballon d’Or candidates in 2023, is predicted by AI to reach the top podium in 2025. Next, Messi will win his 9th title next year, when he was 39 years old.
Victory for Messi will extend the Argentine superstar’s dominance in the Ballon d’Or award over his “great rival” Ronaldo, who is not predicted by AI to win another Ballon d’Or.
In the future, young talents Phil Foden, currently at Man City, and Gavi, currently at Barcelona, are expected to top the Ballon d’Or in 2027 and 2028, respectively.
Foden’s teammate at Man City, Erling Haaland, who finished second in 2023 and also won the Gerd Muller Trophy, is predicted to win the Ballon d’Or in 2029.
Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior is tipped to win the first award of the 2030s. Brighton and Republic of Ireland star Evan Ferguson is a surprise choice for the 2031 award. Notably so far , no player from the Republic of Ireland has reached the top 3 of the Golden Ball.
Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz, now 21, is expected to win the top prize in 2032. Then there is Bayern Munich’s Jamal Musiala, who is second behind Bellingham for the 2023 Kopa Trophy.
Mbappe is expected to win the second Golden Ball of his career in 2025, when he will be 35 years old. And Ferguson becomes the second person after Mbappe to have a similar double, according to AI predictions. This striker will be honored in 2035.
Lamine Yamal is currently only 16 years old but is growing up incredibly in Barcelona. He is expected to become the Messi or Ronaldo of his era when he wins consecutive Golden Ball awards in 2036 and 2037. And Turkey’s Arda Guler, currently playing for Real Madrid at the age of 19, is predicted to be the 2038 winner.
The 2023 Ballon d’Or awards ceremony took place last October, and it is expected that the next awards ceremony will be held at some point this fall. Fans will have a decade and a half to see how many of the AI’s predictions are correct.
