What Happens When You’ve Been One Of The Best Players In The World This Season… And Nobody Knows It. A Story About The 2024 Ballon D'Or

What do you call a player who scored 35 goals, added 9 assists, won both Serie A and the Copa América as the top scorer in each, and netted the winning goal in extra time of an international final?

The best player in the world?

The face of the sport?

Apparently, you call him 8th in the Ballon d’Or odds.

Lautaro Martínez has quietly put together one of the most accomplished individual seasons in modern football. Yet, when Ballon d’Or discussions begin, his name barely surfaces. In a year widely viewed as lacking a runaway favorite, that disconnect is impossible to ignore.

So why is Lautaro so low? Is it because he isn’t a global superstar? Because he doesn’t play for Real Madrid? Because he isn’t the most marketable player on his national team? Or is he being evaluated by a set of standards that history doesn’t actually support?

The Champions League Factor

The most common explanation is simple: Lautaro didn’t win the Champions League.

In recent years, Champions League success has become increasingly central to Ballon d’Or voting. Over the past 16 editions (assuming Lewandowski would have won in 2020), the winner lifted the Champions League trophy 10 times. Messi and Ronaldo account for most of the exceptions—seasons where their individual output overwhelmed any club-level shortcomings.

But historically, this emphasis is new.

Between 1978 and 2006, the Ballon d’Or winner won the Champions League just three times in their winning season (Platini 1984, Van Basten 1989, Zidane 1998). Overall, only 21 of 67 Ballon d’Or winners won the Champions League in the same year.

Winning Europe’s top competition undeniably helps—but it has never been a prerequisite. That matters even more in years featuring major international tournaments, where the criteria often shift.

International tournaments have long played a decisive role in Ballon d’Or voting.

Since 1956, there have been 40 Ballon d’Or cycles that included a World Cup, European Championship, or Copa América. In half of those years, the winner either:

• won the tournament,

• claimed the Golden Boot, or

• was named Player of the Tournament.

That number increases when context is applied. Before 1995, South American players were ineligible for the award. France Football later determined that 12 pre-1995 Ballon d’Ors would have gone to South Americans, five of whom (Pelé, Garrincha, Kempes, Maradona) dominated international tournaments in their winning seasons.

Adjusting for eligibility, tournament importance, and outlier Messi/Ronaldo seasons, international tournaments meaningfully influenced the Ballon d’Or in 24 of 34 relevant years.

The takeaway is simple:In years with international tournaments, elite performance on that stage is often essential—unless a player produces historically dominant club numbers.

Lautaro Martínez did exactly that, winning the Copa América Golden Boot and scoring the decisive goal in the final.

A Historically Rare Season

Lautaro’s season becomes even more remarkable when placed in a broader historical context.

Since World War II, there have been 18 occasions where a player won both:

• a domestic league Golden Boot, and

• an international tournament Golden Boot

  
  

Every eligible player on that list finished 7th or higher in the Ballon d’Or voting. Excluding two modern outliers, the lowest finish becomes 3rd.

When narrowing the criteria further—to players who also won their domestic league—the list shrinks to just seven names. All finished 3rd or higher.

When adding a third requirement—winning the international tournament itself—the list drops to five players:

• Gerd Müller (1972)

• Mario Kempes (1978)

• Michel Platini (1984)

• Lionel Messi (2021)

• Lautaro Martínez (2024)

  
  

Three won the Ballon d’Or outright. Müller finished second behind his teammate Franz Beckenbauer.

Finally, when isolating players who won:

• their domestic league,

• their domestic league Golden Boot,

• an international tournament,

• and the international tournament Golden Boot

  
  

Only three players meet the criteria:

• Gerd Müller (1972)

• Michel Platini (1984)

• Lautaro Martínez (2024)

  
  

This is something that hadn’t happened in 40 years, and has occurred just twice before.

Popularity, Perception, and the Ballon d’Or

Over the past decade, the Ballon d’Or has increasingly rewarded narrative and visibility alongside performance.

Lautaro Martínez is not a global brand. He plays in a league often perceived—fairly or not—as weaker than the Premier League or La Liga. He is not the most marketable star on his own national team. These factors matter more than voters are willing to admit.

Meanwhile, Lamine Yamal’s extraordinary European Championship propelled him into the top five of Ballon d’Or odds despite a club season of 7 goals, 9 assists, and no trophies. His rise reflects excitement and potential more than season-long dominance.

Lionel Messi, now playing in MLS, ranks ahead of Lautaro despite a relatively modest Copa América and limited club-level competition. This isn’t an indictment of Messi—but an illustration of how reputation continues to influence voting.

Where Lautaro Actually Belongs

Lautaro Martínez should not win the Ballon d’Or.

Players like Vinícius Júnior, Jude Bellingham, and Rodri were more influential across the season and deserve to finish ahead of him. However, history overwhelmingly suggests that Lautaro’s campaign aligns with a top-four finish—not eighth.

This is what happens when one of the best players in the world delivers a historically rare season without global hype, viral moments, or brand-driven momentum.

Lautaro Martínez didn’t have a loud season.

He had a historic one.

And almost no one noticed.