Richard Dunne is predicting that three players will dominate the Ballon d'Or over the next few years, with current Manchester City striker Erling Haaland the leading candidate.
Haaland missed out on the award to Lionel Messi in 2023, but former City defender Dunne told William Hill that he believes the Norwegian would be the player to beat going forward. The Irishman says Haaland now stands alongside Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham, and the trio will be the ones to compete for football's biggest individual award for the foreseeable future.
“It's surely only a matter of time until Haaland gets a Ballon d'Or,” Dunne said.
“He's in that category now with Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham and the next generation of superstar footballers. Winning the Champions League pushes him above most around him. The disappointment will obviously be international wise, that he's not got onto a major tournament yet with Norway, but I just think that he makes such an impact for any team in world football.
“There's not many like him around, or if any like him around, that can score the amount of goals that he scores. I think when the Ballon d'Ors are handed out in the post Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi era, you're going to be looking at the likes of those three that I have mentioned. While Haaland is at City, if they're winning the Champions League, then you would probably put him ahead of players from other clubs.”
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