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Former Real Madrid boss Fabio Capello has named three current players at the club who can win a Ballon d'Or title in the future. The Italian tactician claimed that Vinicius Jr, Kylian Mbappe, and Jude Bellingham could potentially lift the coveted Golden Ball.
Mbappe moved to the Santiago Bernabeu on a free transfer from PSG at the start of the 2024-25 campaign. He enjoyed a magnificent debut campaign with Los Blancos, with 43 goals and five assists in 57 appearances across all competitions.
Vinicius has been widely regarded as one of the best forwards in world football over the last few years. In the 2023-24 season, he was a frontrunner for the Ballon d'Or, but lost out to Manchester City's Rodri.
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Bellingham joined Real for a whopping €113 million in the summer of 2023. He has regularly dominated opposition midfielders and taken games by the scruff of their neck, with 38 goals and 28 assists in 98 appearances for the Merengues thus far.
The three players, who have routinely been in the running for the Ballon d'Or title over the last few seasons, have been backed by Capello to win the award. In an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport (via AS h/t Madrid Universal), the 79-year-old said:
"Vinicius, Mbappe, and Bellingham are three potential Ballon d'Or winners."
Real Madrid overcame a gritty Juventus side 1-0 in their FIFA Club World Cup Round of 16 clash on Tuesday (July 1). They will take on German giants Borussia Dortmund in the quarter-final on Saturday (July 5).
"Things weren't so great at first" - Real Madrid icon rules Kylian Mbappe out of the running for the 2025 Ballon d'Or title
Former Real Madrid and Portugal forward Luis Figo has claimed that French superstar Kylian Mbappe's slow start at the Santiago Bernabeu will cost him dearly.
Despite having some shaky performances in the first half of the season, Mbappe turned the tide around in the second half. He ended up with the most goal contributions of any Los Blancos signing in their debut campaign, racking up 43 goals and five assists in 57 games across all competitions.
Despite his scintillating performances, Real ended the season trophyless. They lost every domestic title to archrivals Barcelona and were eliminated from the UEFA Champions League after a 5-1 defeat at the hands of Arsenal in the semi-finals.
In a recent interview with AS, Figo claimed that, besides his rough start, the lack of silverware will also reduce Mbappe's chances of winning the Ballon d'Or. He said (via GiveMeSport):
"Things weren't so great at first, but he's done well since then. He's scored a lot of goals and has adapted to playing for Real Madrid, which is totally different from playing for any other team. What could rule him out for individual trophies is his lack of major team titles, but we'll see what happens. He's a name that's always on the lists of the best in the world, there's no doubt about it."
Mbappe recently made his return from injury, playing the last 22 minutes of Real Madrid's 1-0 win over Juventus in the last 16 of the Club World Cup. He is likely to return to the starting lineup for the quarter-final against Borussia Dortmund, giving a massive boost to his side's chances of winning the tournament.
