the balandor race is heating up and two players have emerged as Front Runners venius Jr and rodri meanwhile Jude bellingham's bid for the prestigious award seems to be losing steam but what's driving this narrative and can Bellingham still turn things around the nikias Jr faces the challenge of consistency having to perform at an elite level week in week out for Real Madrid he can't afford to have an off day or it'll be magnified under the intense media scrutiny rodri on the other hand has to navigate the complexities of Manchester City's Team Dynamics often taking a backseat to more flashy players like earling Holland both players are shouldering immense pressure but in different ways the winner will be announced in Paris on Monday October 28th so which of the game's biggest stars are true contenders and who are merely Pretenders after a season headlined by him finally getting his hands on the World Cup Lionel Messi took home his eighth balandor