Artificial Intelligence (AI) has predicted who the next 15 recipients will be. For the last decade and a half, and have battled it out between themselves, with the former picking up a record-extending eighth gong in October 2023. With the pair no longer plying their trade in Europe, it opens the floor for the up-and-coming hotshots to stake a claim at becoming football’s leading figure.
, Kylian Mbappe, and are among the names that are being flirted with. That, of course, fails to factor in any players that are yet to be unearthed. If you think about how unknown Belmingham was five years ago; and, now, he's a leading figure in football.
A lot can change within a year, let alone across a 15-year period. X (formerly Twitter) user Football Archive – and there are some unbelievably rogue shouts. Next 15 Ballon D'or Winners - Predicted by AI Year Player 2024 Jude Bellingham 2025 Kylian Mbappe 2026 Lionel Messi 2027 Phil Foden 2028 Gavi 2029 Erling Haaland 2030 Vinicius Jr 2031 Evan Ferguson 2032 Florian Wirtz 2033 Jamal Musiala 2034 Kylian Mbappe 2035 Evan Ferguson 2036 Lamine Yamal 2037 Lamine Yamal 2038 Arda Guler After becoming a perennial winner in his 20s and 30s, Messi is predicted to pick up his ninth – and final – Ballon d’Or in 2026, aged 39.
In fairness, the Argentine will play a part in what will be his final World Cup campaign in that summer - so there is every chance that history repeats itself. Sir Stanley Matthews, aged 41, became back in 1956, while Messi.
