Ballon d’Or: Zola identifies Chelsea star to compete for next award

Forum 14 hours ago

Ballon d’Or: Zola identifies Chelsea star to compete for next award

Chelsea legend Gianfranco Zola has backed Cole Palmer to compete for the next Ballon d’Or.

Palmer finished 25th in the 2024 Ballon d’Or rankings on Monday.

The 22-year-old scored 25 goals and provided 15 assists in 45 matches for the Blues last season.

Speaking to Mirror, Zola insisted that Palmer needs to work a lot in his game in order to challenge for the top individual prize.

“He needs to work a lot on his game, of course, because he is still young and there are things that can make him better,” Zola said.

“And if he does that, he can be in contention for the Ballon d’Or because the numbers and the skills are there.

“There is still work to do but potentially he can do that. He has a very, very good coach to work with in Maresca and I am sure he will make sure he works on that.”