Lautaro Martinez is in the Ballon D’Or race alongside Vinicus Junior, Jude Bellingham, Kylian Mbappe, and Erling Haaland.
This is the view in today’s print edition of Milan-based newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, via FCInterNews.
This summer was always likely to play a decisive role in determining which players would be in contention for the Ballon D’Or.
In an international tournament summer, there is always an outsized importance to tournament matches.
In that sense, for example, England pair Harry Kane and Phil Foden’s candidacies for the Ballon D’Or sunk like a stone after they failed to follow up excellent club seasons with much impact for England at the Euros.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham did have one standout moment in an England shirt.
Along with his key role in Real Madrid winning La Liga and the Champions League, that means that the Englishman is certainly a prime candidate.
Another player who was key to Real Madrid’s stellar season was winger Vinicius Junior.
The Brazilian could not follow it up with his country at the Copa America, however.
Then, there is the ever-prolific Erling Haaland. The Norwegian made it two Premier League titles in a row with Manchester City, once again topping the division’s scoring charts.
Similarly, Kylian Mbappe remains Paris Saint-Germain’s talisman in his final season in the French capital, powering the club to yet another title win.
Lautaro Martinez In The Mix For Ballon D’Or
Then there is Inter captain Lautaro Martinez.
The 26-year-old has won three trophies for club and country this year. And he has been a key figure in all three.
Martinez started his year off by scoring the winning goal in the Supercoppa Italiana final against Napoli.
And bigger things were to come for Martinez.
Inter won the Serie A title, with the Argentine as their top scorer – and the top scorer for all of the Italian top flight.
And this summer, Martinez was the player who really lit up the Copa America.
The Inter captain scored five goals, four of them coming off the bench.
Martinez scored the winner in the final of the Copa against Colombia.
For the Gazzetta, it is certainly the case that there are a lot of factors that determine which player will end up winning the Ballon D’Or.
But there’s no doubt that Martinez checks many of the boxes.
The Inter captain could realistically win the award. And if he does not, he will beyond any doubt finish higher than last season’s twentieth-place finish.
