"Genuinely so curious which players we will see win the Ballon d'Or between let's say… 2025 and 2035 when the main players from the last 10+ years are no longer annual favourites," Twitter user and Ajax fan TheEuropeanLad tweets.
Based on this, we've decided to come up with a list of 10 players who could have the biggest impact on the world of football 4 years from now.
1. Erling Haaland
Predicted club: Manchester City.
Why Man City: firstly, his father played there; secondly, the Citizens would definitely need a world-class striker one day and the unsuccessful Harry Kane (and Cristiano Ronaldo?) deal in the summer points to it.
Why him to win the Ballon d'Or: Haaland's goalscoring numbers are getting bigger each year; unlike Kylian Mbappe, he shows no signs of regress and coming to the most competitive league in the world could boost his Ballon d'Or chances.
2. Kylian Mbappe
Predicted club: Real Madrid.
Why Real Madrid: the Frenchman has said that this is the only club he would've swapped PSG for; besides, the Whites' president Florentino Perez has hinted at the 'big Mbappe news' in January.
Why him to win the Ballon d'Or: Mbappe shouldn't face any obstacles on the way to becoming Real Madrid's biggest player – Karim Benzema will soon get too old and there are no other superstars on Madrid's frontline these days. Kylian could record some crazy numbers in La Liga but his Ballon d'Or ambition will also depend on Madrid's Champions League performance.
3. Ansu Fati
Predicted club: Barcelona.
Why Barcelona: because of the no. 10 he has been given and a new Barca contract he could soon sign.
Why him to win the Ballon d'Or: the 18-year-old is clearly among the biggest talents on the scene. The youngster is active at both scoring and assisting which proves that could really be the new Leo Messi for Barca given the potential impact they could have on the team.
4. Matthijs de Ligt
Predicted club: Real Madrid.
Why Real Madrid: because of the Whites' necessity to find 'a new Sergio Ramos' and Mino Raiola's hints at De Ligt's Juventus departure.
Why him to win the Ballon d'Or: we finally live in the world where centre-backs could be valued as high as attackers (Virgil van Dijk almost won the prize in 2019 while Ruben Dias is expected to be among the favourites either for 2020 or 2021). De Ligt's big move to a club like Real Madrid or Barcelona (if the latter fully recover their status) could be the way to be in contention.
5. Bruno Fernandes
Predicted club: Manchester United.
Why Man United: we can't see him going elsewhere – Bruno's status at the Red Devils is huge and he could really become a club legend one day.
Why him to win the Ballon d'Or: even when he's over 30, his stunning playmaking skills will go nowhere; besides, Cristiano Ronaldo's retirement will open the door for him to become Portugal's biggest player for a few years. Knowing how good Portugal's young generation is, Bruno will have the chance to claim an international trophy with his national side.
The other top 10 players
6. Frenkie de Jong (predicted club: Barcelona).
7. Trent Alexander-Arnold (predicted club: Liverpool).
8. Harry Kane (predicted club: Man United).
9. Ruben Dias (predicted club: Man City).
10. Jude Bellingham (predicted club: Chelsea).
❓ What players do you think will rule the world in 2025?
