Ballon d'Or top 12 'revealed' as exact number of votes for each player 'leaked' hours before official ceremony

A 'leaked' list of the top 12 in the voting for the 2024 men's Ballon d'Or has gone viral on social media just hours before the ceremony takes place.

In recent years, the winner of the Ballon d'Or has often been 'leaked' before the ceremony itself - in comparison to decades gone by where the results would not be known until the announcement was made on the night.

Nowadays, fans often know the winner, and even the top three, hours in advance.

This time around, the top 12 - as well as how many votes each player has received - has been 'leaked'.

Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior - as earlier reported by Marca - is set to be crowned as the 2024 men's Ballon d'Or according to the leaked document.

The Brazilian has received the highest number of votes, it is claimed, ahead of Manchester City's Rodri and Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham in third.

Erling Haaland, meanwhile, is down in sixth place, while Barcelona wonderkid Lamine Yamal is in seventh and Phil Foden is in eighth.

There is, perhaps surprisingly, no room in the top 12 for Chelsea's Cole Palmer, who has continued where he left off this term after an incredible 2023/24 campaign which saw him score 22 Premier League goals, provide 11 assists and score in the Euro 2024 final.

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He already has 12 goal contributions in just nine games this season, but that seemingly wasn't enough to satisfy the voting panel.

The voting list for the 2024 women's Ballon d'Or, meanwhile, has not yet been leaked. Barcelona's Aitana Bonmati - who won the award last year - is among the favourites to scoop the trophy again, along with team-mate Caroline Graham Hansen and USWNT star Sophia Smith.

Here is the leaked list for the men's Ballon d'Or in full:

1) Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid) - 630 points

2) Rodri (Manchester City) - 576 points

3) Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid) - 422 points

4) Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid) - 317 points

5) Harry Kane (Bayern Munich) - 201 points

6) Erling Haaland (Manchester City) - 195 points

7) Lamine Yamal (Barcelona) - 128 points

8) Phil Foden (Manchester City) - 29 points

9) Dani Olmo (Barcelona) - 25 points

10) Florian Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen) - 24 points

11) Daniel Carvajal (Real Madrid) - 17 points

12) Antonio Rudiger (Real Madrid) - Unknown