Current Affairs PDF

68th Ballon D’Or: Spain’s Rodri & Aitana Bonmatí won the men’s & women’s Ballon d’Or award 

AffairsCloud YouTube Channel - Click Here

AffairsCloud APP Click Here

Spain’s Rodri and Bonmatí win Ballon d’Or award for best men’s and women’s players in world soccerThe 68th edition of the Ballon D’Or (2024) award ceremony took place on 28th October 2024 at the Théâtre du Châtelet, in Paris, France.

  • Manchester City and Spain’s midfielder Rodrigo Hernández Cascante (also known as Rodri) has won the 2024 Men’s Ballon d’Or or Golden Ball Award.
  • Barcelona FC and Spain midfielder Aitana Bonmatí Conca won the Women’s Ballon d’Or or Ballon d’Or Féminin Award for the second year in a row. She previously won the award in 2023.

Ballon d’Or 2024 winner: 

AwardWinner
Ballon d’Or (Men)Rodrigo Hernández Cascante  (Spain)
Ballon d’Or (Women)Aitana Bonmati Conca(Spain)
Kopa Trophy (Best Player aged under 21)Lamine Yamal Nasraoui Ebana (Spain)
Men’s Coach of the YearCarlo Ancelotti Cavaliere(Italy)
Women’s Coach of the YearEmma Carol Hayes(British)
Yashin Trophy (Best Goalkeeper)Damián Emiliano “Dibu” Martínez Romero(Argentina)
Men’s Club of the YearReal Madrid(Spain)
Women’s Club of the YearBarcelona(Spain)
Gerd Muller Trophy
(Best Goalscorer)
Harry Edward Kane(The United Kingdom, UK) and Kylian Mbappé Lottin(France)


 Rodrigo Hernández Cascante :

i.Rodrigo earned the award by playing an integral role for his club – Manchester City and Spain in the 2023/24 season.

ii.He helped his club to win a record 4th successive English Premier League title before being named The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) EURO 2024 Player of the Tournament for his impressive performances as Spain triumphed in Germany.

Aitana Bonmati :

i.Aitana Bonmati retained the title of the No. 1 women’s player after helping Barcelona win the Spanish league, the Spanish cup and the Champions League.

ii.Bonmatí became the second Barcelona player, after teammate Alexia Putellas, to win two titles since the women’s trophy was first introduced in 2018.

Other Winners:

i.Yamal(17-year-old) became the 6th player to win the Kopa Trophy after Kylian Mbappe, Matthijs de Ligt, Pedri, Gavi and Bellingham. He was presented the trophy by 1987 Ballon d’Or winner Ruud Gullit.

  • He scored 16 goals at club level in the 2023/24 season and made four assists in La Roja’s Euro campaign.

ii.Ancelotti claimed the Men’s Coach of the Year award as a UEFA Champions League and La Liga double winner.

iii.Emma Hayes won the Women’s Coach of the Year after an impressive season with Chelsea.

About Ballon d’Or: 

i.Ballon d’Or has been annually presented by the French magazine “France Football” since 1956.

  • It was awarded based on the achievements of the last season.
  • This is the most prestigious award presented to a footballer to recognise outstanding achievements and exceptional talent.

ii.This was the 6th edition of the Women’s Ballon d’Or since the first edition was held in 2018.

iii.In 2023, Argentina’s Lionel Andrés Messi (Lionel Messi) won the Ballon d’Or award(Men) and  Spain’s Aitana Bonmatí Conca (Aitana Bonmati) won the Ballon d’Or (Women) award .