AI predicts next 15 Ballon d'Or winners: Lionel Messi featured, no Cristiano Ronaldo

With the era of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo‘s dominance in the Ballon d’Or coming to an end, fans wonder what the future of the France Football award, given to the best player of the year, looks like.

That’s why it was not a surprise to see a user on social media ask Artificial Intelligence to predict the next 15 Ballon d’Or winners. The X (formerly Twitter) account @FootballArch_ shared the AI answer, with some intriguing predictions.

While Jude Bellingham has been tipped to emerge triumphant in this year’s ceremony, which is expected to be held in October, Kylian Mbappe appears as the predicted winner for the 2025 award.

Perhaps the most interesting prediction by the AI is that Messi will win a ninth Ballon d’Or at 39 in 2026, making it harder for younger stars to chase Messi’s record. Curiously, the World Cup will take place that year.

Lionel Messi with his eighth Ballon d’Or award in 2023

The Argentine star’s presence in the tournament remains uncertain, but in the event he does play in it, a strong performance could make him a favorite for the French football award, just like it happened after Qatar 2022. While Messi’s UCL titles often made him a winner at the beginning, now it’s his international career what continues to put Leo in the conversation.

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From 2027, a new era with neither Messi nor Ronaldo

The AI prediction suggests that while Messi will return to the podium before hanging up his boots, Cristiano Ronaldo won’t add a sixth Ballon d’Or to his collection.

From 2027, a new generation of winners is tipped to take over, starting with Phil Foden before Gavi gets the award in 2028. Erling Haaland and Vinicius Junior are predicted to win in the next two years, with a surprise victory by Evan Ferguson in 2031.

Florian Wirtz, who currently shines for Bayer Leverkusen, is expected to blossom into a Ballon d’Or winner by 2032, followed by Jamal Musiala the following year. Mbappe, meanwhile, is mentioned as the winner for 2034, nine years after his predicted first success.

With another triumph by Ferguson and consecutive wins by Lamine Yamal while Arda Guler appears last on the list, these are the players predicted to win the Ballon d’Or for the next 15 years by the AI:

• 2024 – Jude Bellingham
• 2025 – Kylian Mbappe
• 2026 – Lionel Messi
• 2027 – Phil Foden
• 2028 – Gavi
• 2029 – Erling Haaland
• 2030 – Vinicius Junior
• 2031 – Evan Ferguson
• 2032 – Florian Wirtz
• 2033 – Jamal Musiala
• 2034 – Kylian Mbappe
• 2035 – Evan Ferguson
• 2036 – Lamine Yamal
• 2037 – Lamine Yamal
• 2038 – Arda Guler