The men's soccer peak is about to change the guard.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have held the coveted Ballon d'Or trophy for most of the past 15 years and will play in Saudi Arabia and the United States respectively next season.
2022 World Player of the Year winner Karim Benzema followed in Ronaldo's footsteps and moved to Saudi Arabia, while the only other winner in the same period – 37-year-old Luka Modric – is coming to the end of his illustrious career, despite reportedly agreeing to stay at Real Madrid next season.
Last winter, Messi led Argentina to their first World Cup title since 1986 and he is widely expected to win the 2023 Ballon d'Or, but who will take over the throne in 2024? BBC Sports to take a look...
Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid)
Bellingham, one of the best performers at last year's World Cup in Qatar, joined Real Madrid for an initial price of €103 million (£88.5), becoming the third-most expensive junior player in history and the second-most expensive British player of all time.
He failed to lead the Bundesliga club to their first league title in 11 years, but had a strong final season in Germany, making history last October when he became the club's youngest captain at just 19.
Bellingham left Birmingham City for Borussia Dortmund in 2020 for £25 million, where he made 42 appearances in 2022-23, scoring 14 goals and assisting seven. After turning down many of Europe's top clubs to back the 14-time European champions, the midfielder is looking to maintain his extraordinary career trajectory in the Spanish capital.
Erlin Haaland (Manchester City)
The prolific Norwegian is the first player to win both Premier League Player and Young Player of the Year awards in the same season, and he is perhaps the most obvious heir to the likes of Ronaldo, Messi and others.
Haaland broke records in his debut in the English top flight, with 36 goals breaking the best record held by Alan Shearer and Andy Cole (34 goals) in nearly three decades.
The 22-year-old has scored 52 goals in 53 games, becoming only the second player in English top-flight history to score more than 50 goals in all competitions and the first in 95 years.
He has scored 229 goals for club and country in his career, likely to break the all-time record of 837 goals held by C Ronaldo.
Vinicius Jr. (Real Madrid)
After Real Madrid beat Liverpool in the round of 16 of the Champions League in March, manager Carlo Ancelotti called Vinicius "the most decisive player in the world – the man who can decide the game best on a stable basis".
The Brazilian terrified the Manchester City backline with his speed and skill in the semifinals of the 2021-22 season and scored the winning goal in the final against Liverpool, finishing third with 23 goals and 21 assists in all competitions of the 22-23 season. Europe's top league is second only to Haaland and Kylian Mbappe.
Vinicius was the target of several racist abuses last season, including an incident involving Valencia that sparked outrage in both Spain and Brazil.
Seven people were subsequently punished for racist acts, Valencia was sanctioned by the closure of part of the stadium and Vinicius himself was recruited by FIFA as part of the new anti-racism working group.
Killian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain)
Since joining Paris Saint-Germain from Monaco in 2017, the prolific Frenchman has scored 212 goals and contributed 98 assists in 260 appearances, winning 13 domestic trophies for the Qatari club.
Mbappe was integral to France's 2018 World Cup triumph and has also scored 38 goals in 88 appearances for the Blues, placing him fifth in the team's all-time top scorer list, just 15 goals behind current record holder Olivier Giroud.
Despite his first hat-trick in a final since England's Jeff Hurst in 1966, he was inspired by Messi for Argentina to win two consecutive World Cup titles.
After informing Paris Saint-Germain that he will not be renewing his contract in 2024, there will be no shortage of suitors if the Ligue 1 champions decide to honor the striker this summer.
Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain)
The 31-year-old Neymar is not new, but the Brazilian's status as one of football's biggest stars is still undisputed.
Despite missing the last three months of the season due to an ankle ligament injury, the winger scored 35 goals in all competitions last season.
Last November, Neymar scored against Croatia in the World Cup quarter-finals, equalling Pele's record of 77 'official' men's goals for Brazil. It was only a matter of time before the complete record belonged to him.