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Portugal's head coach, Roberto Martinez, has predicted that Vitinha will win the 2025 Ballon d'Or. The 25-year-old had an outstanding season with Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), scoring seven goals and providing three assists in 52 games.
Vitinha played a crucial role in Luis Enrique's midfield as the Parisians achieved a historic treble, which included a 5-0 victory over Inter Milan in the Champions League final. His teammate at the club, Ousmane Dembele, is already considered one of the frontrunners for this year's Ballon d'Or.
However, after the 2-1 win over Germany in the UEFA Nations League semifinal, Martinez emphasized that Vitinha also merits the coveted award.
"One thing is what he's been doing this season, he's undoubtedly an essential player for PSG to win everything. Vitinha's style and effectiveness deserves to win the Ballon d'Or. Regarding the game, I said yesterday that it was important to evaluate everyone, balance the team, and start well because Germany is dynamic. But we also needed to finish well. João Neves and Nuno Mendes played well, it was important for Vitinha to come on and finish the game," said Martinez.
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He continued:
“Gonçalo Ramos was good. Portugal needs to be a flexible team and have more than eleven players. The ones who came on helped a lot to finish the game strong. We have Diogo Jota, Palhinha. In the European Championship I felt we needed more players. Today we showed that we can play eye to eye and then add more with the changes, adapting to different tactical concepts."
Barcelona's Raphinha and Lamine Yamal are among the other candidates in the race for this year's top prize.
Who won the 2024 Ballon d'Or?
Manchester City midfielder Rodri won the Ballon d'Or last year following an impressive season with both his club and country. The Spanish midfielder helped the Cityzens secure the Premier League title and led La Roja to the Euro 2024 championship.
Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior was also in exceptional form last season but narrowly missed out on the top individual honor in football. Rodri amassed 1170 points to take home the award, while the Brazilian finished in second place with 1129 points.
Los Blancos midfielder Jude Bellingham, who was also on fire for the club, rounded out the podium with 970 points. Dani Carvajal placed fifth, followed by Kylian Mbappe in sixth. Lautaro Martinez, Lamine Yamal, Toni Kroos, and Harry Kane completed the top ten rankings for the Ballon d'Or 2024.
