🥇Lautaro, Champions glory could mean Ballon d'Or too! Can Toro win it? 🤯 | OneFootball

Can an Inter player really lift the Ballon d'Or on September 22? The scenario, which was highly unlikely just a few years ago, is now viewed in a different light, given the team's results under Inzaghi and, above all, the lack of a clear favorite.

In fact, until the Champions League semifinals, Raphinha seemed to be the number one candidate, but Barcelona's elimination at the hands of Inter should have removed the Brazilian from the list of potential winners, or at least lowered his chances.

So, who's still in the running? Lamine Yamal and Momo Salah, as well as Parisians Dembélé and Donnarumma, are still contenders.

🤞 Who can do it?

Yamal will win more than one Ballon d'Or, and there seems to be no doubt about it. The two matches against Inter have shown the world who the real next big thing in modern football is. At 17, Yamal drove one of the strongest defenses in the Champions League crazy, but perhaps, like Raphinha, elimination could have denied the 2007-born player the chance to become the youngest ever to lift the top individual prize.

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A similar situation applies to Salah, perhaps the main candidate until March: 29 goals and 18 assists in the Premier League are impressive numbers, but then Liverpool's exit from the Europa League in the round of 16 at the hands of PSG seems to have excluded the Egyptian from the running.

If, as often happens, the Champions League is the real deciding factor, then the potential winner must be sought among the teams still in the competition, namely PSG and Inter. Starting with the Parisians, the main contenders are primarily two: Ousman Dembélé and Gigio Donnarumma.

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With 33 goals and 13 assists this season, the former Barça player is a highly credible candidate. Some may turn up their noses, but the numbers speak for him, just as they do for Donnarumma, probably the best goalkeeper in this Champions League. If PSG plays for the trophy in Monaco on Saturday, they owe it to the Italian goalkeeper and his monster performances against Liverpool, Aston Villa, and Arsenal.

🤩 Can it be the year of the Bull?

And what about Inter? Never like this year has a Ballon d'Or for an Inter player been possible. The only Nerazzurro in contention is captain Lautaro Martinez, who already came close to the dream last year, finishing 7th.

📸 MARCO BERTORELLO - AFP or licensors

From a personal and statistical point of view, the Bull's season has not been one of the best, with only 12 goals in the league and disappointments in the league and Coppa Italia. However, these numbers are complemented by his 9 goals in the Champions League, a personal record. And it's precisely in the European competition that Lautaro finds the best arguments to support his candidacy.

If there's one player who has characterized Inter's run in Europe, it's the Argentine. He scored against Feyenoord in the round of 16, both at home and away against Bayern in the quarterfinals, and again in the semifinal return leg against Barcelona. But, above all, he delivered a series of outstanding performances as a leader. If Inter were to lift the trophy on Saturday, Lautaro would certainly be among the top favorites for the final victory.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇮🇹 here.

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