Cole Palmer has already named his best player in the world ahead of Ballon d'Or awards

Cole Palmer has named Kylian Mbappe as the best player in the as the Frenchman looks to win his first Ballon d'Or title.

Mbappe having fired them to another Ligue 1 title to join . He is one of the contenders to be handed the Ballon d'Or trophy, with .

Among those hoping to win are England stars , , , and Palmer himself. The star enjoyed a brilliant first season with the Blues, before scoring in the Euro 2024 final.

He award, which was announced in September. Speaking at the time, the 22-year-old appeared to reveal his time for the Ballon d'Or title.

READ MORE:

READ MORE:

Palmer was asked by Goal who the best player in the world is. At first, he said: "Either Vini [Vinicius Junior] or Mbappe." After being pressed for a definitive answer, he replied: "Mbappe."

Palmer was also asked to name the best player he had ever played with, the best English player in history and the best passer, among other categories. He was then told to name a head to head winner between each one.

Mbappe reached the semi-final stage, with beating him. Messi would end up the winner, with Palmer picking the Argentine over in the final.

HAVE YOUR SAY! Who do you think will win the Ballon d'Or? .

Mbappe is in contention to finish in a strong position, having netted six goals in nine appearances since joining Madrid. France's performance at Euro 2024 may harm his candidacy though, as well as PSG's failure in the during his time at the Parc des Princes.

Instead, it is expected that Vinicius, Bellingham and Manchester City's Rodri will be battling it out for the top three positions. Vinicius is the heavy favourite with the bookmakers to scoop the award.

It is the first time since 2005 that neither Messi nor Ronaldo have been nominated. Palmer will hope for a high finish having scored 22 goals and nottched 11 assists last season.

He has already made nine goal contributions this term in his eight appearances in the top flight. But he will likely finish towards the lower half of the rankings when they are announced.

Also in the running from the Premier League is duo William Saliba and Martin Odegaard, and City pair and Ruben Dias. England captain and star also makes the shortlist.

and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our