A successful outing at Euro 2024 by Jude Bellingham could secure the Ballon d'Or for the England phenom, but Wayne Bridge does not believe the 20-year-old is too concerned about that.
Bellingham is widely believed to be among the front-runners to win the next Ballon d'Or as the world's best player, with his Real Madrid teammate Vinicius Jr. providing key competition for the honour.
Both Bellingham and Vini Jr. are preparing to lead their respective national teams into a major tournament this month, with the Brazilian headlining his country's side at the Copa America.
A tournament win for either player could provide a big boost after both were standouts at the club level as Madrid secured titles in La Liga and the Champions League, but Bridge is not sure how much of an impact Euro 2024 will have on Bellingham's case to win the Ballon d'Or — or whether the young star even cares all that much about the individual award.
“I don’t think England winning the Euros will mean he goes ahead of Vinicius Jr. and wins the Ballon d’Or," Bridge told Betfred. "He could have a rubbish tournament and not play well.
"I don’t think he will even be bothered about winning the Ballon d’Or to be honest because what would he rather do, win that or win the Euros? He’d take winning the Euros over the Ballon d’Or.
"However, at the moment I think it’s a flip of a coin between him and Vinicius to win it.”
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