Real Madrid played out a comfortable 2–0 victory against Villarreal on Saturday, courtesy of Kylian Mbappe’s brace. The club is slowly gathering some wind behind its wings and is now on a three-match winning streak across all fronts.
Alvaro Arbeloa will be more than happy with his team’s recent performances after a disappointing show in his first match in charge knocked Los Blancos out of the Copa del Rey after losing 3-2 to Segunda Division club Albacete.
Fans are certainly feeling much more optimistic about Real’s chances of winning multiple trophies this season. Now the question arises: if they indeed do, will a Los Blancos star be awarded the Ballon d’Or? And if so, who might that individual be?
Mbappe is always the obvious choice, especially given the form he is in. There are a lot of other names in Real’s squad as well, including Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham, who could go on to win the Ballon d’Or moving forward.
However, apart from the names mentioned, a recent Los Blancos signing has been surprisingly tipped to win the award in the future, and the name might come as a surprise to some fans. The player in question is Madrid centre-back Dean Huijsen.
In fact, Bournemouth’s President of Football Operations, Tiago Pinto, has recently spoken (via Marca) about the youngster’s chances of winning the Ballon d’Or and stated that “Dean Huijsen is the only center back that can win the Ballon d’Or.” He further added, “If one day a coach plays him as a midfielder, he’ll be one of the best ever.”
Real Madrid defender for future Ballon d'Or win?
Real Madrid boycotted the Ballon d’Or following Vinícius’ snub in 2024, when the award was instead given to Manchester City’s Rodri. It will be interesting to see whether the club changes its stance if a Los Blancos player goes on to win it in the near future.
Nevertheless, coming back to Huijsen, he is an incredibly talented individual. The Spanish defender joined Madrid in the summer from Bournemouth for a fee of around €62.5 million.
While the 20-year-old has shown promise in his early days as a Real player, he has struggled with consistency lately. That said, there is little doubt that Huijsen has the potential to become one of the best in his position and also to win the Ballon d’Or in the future.
The last defender to win the award was Fabio Cannavaro, which was more than a decade ago. So if Huijsen manages to get his hands on the Ballon d’Or in the future, it would be an incredible feat.
All things considered, it is best not to get ahead of ourselves. Huijsen is still young and has a lot learn. More importantly, for now, the focus should be on the season at hand and not on some individual award.