Cristiano Ronaldo has backed Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappe to be a Ballon d’Or winner for the ‘foreseeable years’.
Ronaldo is a five-time winner of football’s greatest individual prize but has been left out of the 30-player shortlist for the 2024 award, set to be announced next month.
The 39-year-old and Lionel Messi have held a largely unchallenged stranglehold on the award since 2008, sharing 13 awards in a record-breaking period of dominance.
Speaking to former Manchester United teammate Rio Ferdinand on his YouTube channel, Ronaldo discussed the players he believes will take over from the all-time greats. He backed Mbappe, who signed for Real Madrid from PSG in the summer, to be at the forefront of the next generation.
Ronaldo names contenders for future Ballon d’Or wins
“In my opinion, he can be the Golden Ball winner for the [foreseeable] years,” Ronaldo said about Mbappe.
“It will be him, probably Haaland, Bellingham, Lamine. This new generation has a lot of potential. I believe [Mbappe] will do very well [at Real Madrid].”
Ronaldo won his first Ballon d’Or at Manchester United before signing for Real Madrid in an £80m world-record deal in 2009.
He added four further Ballon d’Or awards during his time in Spain and has opened up on how he handled the pressure of the Bernabeu, following Mbappe’s similarly high-profile transfer this summer.
Ronaldo offers Mbappe advice on Real Madrid ‘pressure’
“It was pressure, but at the same time I believed in myself,” he said.
“I said listen, if I was the best player in the Premier League and I won the Golden Ball at Manchester United and the Champions League, I knew I would do well.
“I believed in my skills and talent. It was difficult because it’s a different country; the adaptation, I was still young at 24. In the same way, I was very positive.
“It was the best club in the world I wanted to make history, like I did at Manchester United. I liked to prove people wrong from what they are thinking.
“The structure of the club is nice – it’s good, it’s solid. They have a great coach and president who have been there for many, many years.
“It’s not going to be a big issue for [Mbappe]. It’s not going to be a big problem because of his talent. He can show everything he’s capable of.”
