Lautaro’s seventh place in the Ballon d'Or: "Thank you, Nerazzurri fans"
Team
— MondaySeventh place for the Nerazzurri captain in the Ballon d'Or: best finish for an Inter player since 2011. The Argentine forward, Copa America and Serie A champion, and league top scorer, in the top 10 of the prestigious award
PARIS – The Paris night was filled with stars, as the city crowned international football's new Ballon d'Or winners: Rodri, Manchester City’s midfielder, and Aitana Bonmatí of Barcelona, celebrating her second consecutive triumph.
The Nerazzurri were well represented in the Théâtre du Châtelet, hosting the 68th edition of this prestigious award. Three Inter players attended the ceremony: Lautaro Martinez and Hakan Calhanoglu, Ballon d'Or nominees, and Yann Sommer, contending for the Yashin Trophy for the best goalkeeper of the season.
In the final standings, Lautaro Martinez placed 7th, Hakan Calhanoglu 20th, and Yann Sommer ranked 6th in the Yashin Trophy, won by Emiliano Martinez.
LAUTARO IN THE TOP 10: RANKINGS AND STATISTICS
A prestigious achievement: Lautaro finished in seventh place, earning XXX points from the panel of international sports journalists. At the top of the list is Rodri, followed by Vinicius, Bellingham, Carvajal, Haaland, and Mbappé.
In recent history, this is the highest position for an Inter player in the award since 2011, when Diego Forlán, who arrived in the summer from Atlético Madrid, also placed seventh. In 2010, Inter's Treble-winning team had four players in the final list: Sneijder 4th, Eto'o 12th, Maicon 17th, and Julio Cesar 19th.
Lautaro, who last season won the Copa America with Argentina, scoring the decisive goal against Colombia in the final, along with the Serie A title and top scorer honours, matches players like Adriano and Ibrahimovic, both of whom finished seventh in the Ballon d'Or rankings while wearing the Nerazzurri shirt (Adriano 6th in 2004, 7th in 2005; Ibrahimovic 8th in 2005 and 7th in 2007).
The evening for the Nerazzurri captain was further highlighted by a moment on stage when he handed the Yashin Trophy to his national teammate, Emiliano Martinez.
“"It's a pleasure for me to be here. Recently, I've won many important titles with Argentina and Inter. It's an honour, and I'm happy because we work hard to win trophies and achieve our group goals, but this sport encourages you every day to make sacrifices in order to grow. I want to thank you for the warm welcome we've received here. I'm very pleased. Competing for this award represents a dream, a recognition of the sacrifices, all the hard work, and the great year I had with Inter. I think it's always important to be nominated for such a prestigious individual award, but the credit primarily goes to the results achieved with my teams, Inter and Argentina"”
Lautaro Martinez
PALLONE D'ORO 2024 RANKINGS
1. Rodri (ESP, 28, Manchester City) 2. Vinicius Jr (BRA, 24, Real Madrid) 3. Jude Bellingham (ENG, 21, Real Madrid) 4. Dani Carvajal (ESP, 32, Real Madrid) 5. Erling Haaland (NOR, 24, Manchester City) 6. Kylian Mbappé (FRA, 25, Paris-SG / Real Madrid) 7. Lautaro Martinez (ARG, 27, Inter) 8. Lamine Yamal (ESP, 17, FC Barcelona) 9. Toni Kroos (GER, 34, Real Madrid / retired) 10. Harry Kane (ENG, 31, Bayern Munich) 11. Phil Foden (ENG, 24, Manchester City) 12. Florian Wirtz (GER, 21, Bayer Leverkusen) 13. Dani Olmo (ESP, 26, RB Leipzig / FC Barcelona) 14. Ademola Lookman (NGA, 27, Atalanta) 15. Nico Williams (ESP, 22, Athletic Bilbao) 16. Granit Xhaka (SUI, 32, Bayer Leverkusen) 17. Federico Valverde (URU, 26, Real Madrid) 18. Emiliano Martinez (ARG, 32, Aston Villa) 19. Martin Ödegaard (NOR, 25, Arsenal) 20. Hakan Çalhanoglu (TUR, 30, Inter) 21. Bukayo Saka (ENG, 23, Arsenal) 22. Antonio Rüdiger (GER, 31, Real Madrid) 23. Ruben Dias (POR, 27, Manchester City) 24. William Saliba (FRA, 23, Arsenal) 25. Cole Palmer (ENG, 22, Manchester City / Chelsea) 26. Declan Rice (ENG, 25, Arsenal) 27. Vitinha (POR, 24, Paris-SG) 28. Alejandro Grimaldo (ESP, 29, Bayer Leverkusen) 29. Mats Hummels (GER, 35, Borussia Dortmund) 29. Artem Dovbyk (UKR, 27, SK Dnipro-1 / Gérone / AS Roma)