Carlos Baleba, a player for Brighton, has stated that three other Premier League players told him he had a chance to win the Ballon d’Or. The Cameroonian midfielder told SunSport that he would love to be named the best player in the league.
Following in the footsteps of Rodri, a midfielder for Manchester City and Spain, who beat out players like Vinicius and Jude Bellingham to claim the Ballon d’Or, Baleba is determined to do the same.
“I have got it in me [to win the Ballon d’Or],” Baleba claimed, quoting Declan Rice, Matheus Cunha, and Joelinton. Like Rodri [won it in 2024], I aspire to be the Ballon d’Or winner.
Midfielders like us now have more faith in our ability to win the Ballon d’Or after seeing his success [with Spain at the 2024 Euros and Manchester City winning the 2024 Premier League title].
After joining Brighton in 2023 from Lille, Baleba is not considered a heavy favorite to win the Ballon d’Or this season based on his own and his team’s play. This means he will have to settle for hoping for the top individual prize at a later date.