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The Ballon d’Or is the most prestigious award in football, given to the greatest player in the world every year. There has never been a Mexican winner of the coveted trophy, and for the last ten years, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have dominated.

With the Argentine and Portuguese a step above the rest, it has been hard for any other player to break through. But now the careers of the two superstars are winding down, the contest could be more open in the future. Hirving Lozano is a player with great potential – could he be the first ever Mexican to lift the Ballon d’Or?

Lozano, otherwise known as Chucky, has made a name for himself as one of the hottest attackers on the planet in recent years. Currently plying his trade at PSV in the Dutch Eredivisie, it is likely that the Mexican youngster will be snapped up by one of Europe’s elite clubs in the coming years for a hefty transfer fee. In his first year at PSV, Chucky helped them top the division, and he has notched 27 goals in 42 league games for the club so far. Since moving to the Holland club from Pachuca in 2017, the skilful trickster has improved greatly and could easily go on to be named among the best in the world in the future.

PSV Director of Football Marcel Brands has compared Lozano to Messi, saying that the Mexican has a low centre of gravity and excellent ball control similar to the Barcelona legend. Brands also noted how explosive and clinical Chucky is in front of goal, other traits akin to Messi. It is no surprise that the 23-year-old has attracted the interest of clubs like Barca and Juventus, and if he wants to go on to be a world beater he will need to join one of these sides.

When Messi and Ronaldo finally start to wane, Real Madrid’s Luka Modric is expected to be in line for the coveted Ballon d’Or. The Croatian was one of the standout players at the Russia World Cup last summer, and he ended the tournament with the Golden Ball. However, in Croatia’s recent Nations League fixture with England he was unable to exert as much influence as in their semi-final meeting. The Three Lions were tipped to win the tie, and ended up prevailing 2-1. Still, there is no doubting that Modric is one of the best playmakers in the world who deserves recognition.

Modric managed to step up his game and take it to elite level upon joining Madrid from Tottenham Hotspur, and Lozano will have to do the same if he is to challenge the Croatian for the Ballon d’Or. If Barcelona have earmarked the PSV man as a long-term replacement for Messi, then there is no telling the heights that Lozano could reach in his career. Mexico may soon name their first ever Ballon d’Or winner.

Former Arsenal player and Mexico international Carlos Vela believes that England can win the World Cup in Russia. He said that it has been an impressive tournament so far for Gareth Southgate’s man and that he is sure that they can go all the way and lift the trophy.

He said that the team has shown their quality as well as their determination to win the trophy and there is no doubt that they have the talent to win the trophy.

Carlos Vela said that with all the favorites out of the tournament this will be a unique opportunity for England to lift the trophy and that it is important that the players believe in themselves.

Whilst they may have started out the tournament as one of the wild cards in people’s accumulators to even win their group, fans across the nation are now starting to believe that they might even go on and win the tournament outright!

He said that Croatia has also been impressive ever since the start of the tournament and England will have to be at their best if they want to win the match. He said that players such as Harry Kane and Dele Alli have all been impressive since the start of the tournament and he is sure that they will replicate the same form in their next game.

Carlos Vela said that England fans have been waiting for this moment for years and that they are now on the verge of lifting the most important trophy in the world. He believes that Gareth Southgate already has a plan on how to deal with Croatia and that they will be preparing themselves well for this game.

He said that this will be a real opportunity for England to reach the final and that the players should be ready to fight for every ball. He admitted that this will not be an easy game as Croatia will also want to win this game and reach the first final of their short history.

Gareth Southgate’s team have impressed since their defeat to Belgium in the last of the Group Games (albeit with a severely weakened squad), with wins over Sweden and Colombia in the two knockout matches helping them to breeze into the Semi Finals, where they now face Croatia on Wednesday.

Republic of Ireland manager Martin O’Neill believes that Carlos Vela lacks physical strength as a footballer and this is the main reason why he did not succeed in the Premier League.

Indeed the Mexican international played for some time in England with Arsenal before making the switch to the Major League Soccer.

The Republic of Ireland manager said that Vela is a technically gifted player just as all Mexican players but he believes that they lack the physical strength that will allow them to succeed in today’s footballing world. He said that this is the main reason that they lost against Brazil as their opponents were stronger physically and were able to dominate the game.

Whilst Mexico were always going to be the underdogs (and with an 12bet affiliate id you could get an odds boost that saw punters being able to get upto 100-1 on Mexico beating Brazil), many pundits were expecting there to be at least a little more of a fight, with the fact that they were so easily despatched by the Brazilians disappointing many of standing around the game.

He believes that Mexico should work on the development of their players to make sure that their players are not only good technically but also physically. He said that Japan also had the same problem in the past and that they have managed to develop players that now can withstand physical pressure.

Martin O’Neill believes that Mexico has had an impressive tournament and he believes that they could have gone further in the tournament if they did not have to face a team such as Brazil. He said that this has been a unique world cup and that there have been so many upsets.

With Republic of Ireland not there this time around, Martin O’Neill was there in a full-time capacity as a pundit for United Kingdom’s ITV, alongside Slaven Bilic and Roy Keane. Had his side been present at the Finals, he said he fancied their chances of causing a few upsets – just as the likes of Japan and Sweden had done.

He said that Mexico should not be disappointed with their tournament and that they have had some great results in this World Cup. He believes that the team can become stronger if they find a way to deal with the physical demand of modern football. He said that Mexico has some good technical players and that they are hard to play against when in small space and this is what makes them dangerous and difficult to deal with.

Mexico international Carlos Vela has been introduced as Los Angeles Football Club’s first designated player ahead of their Major League Soccer debut next year.

The 28-year-old was approached to join the expansion franchise several weeks ago, and he has now admitted his surprise at being the first player in the squad.

Los Angeles FC are yet to have a uniform or a completed stadium, but the Real Sociedad attacker feels excited by the new challenge of having to build a team around him, he said: “It’s crazy and it’s strange. It’s like, ‘OK, I can play alone if you want.’ I’m the first. You feel like they’re building the team around you. I feel cool, you know? I think it was the right moment to come here, because the ambition of this team is very good,” Vela said.

“The people make me feel like this is my club, like I am important, and I want to be an important player. I hope I can be one of the best players in the league.”

With the stadium still under construction, the Mexican forward was presented a T-shirt with his name on it from owner Will Ferrell while standing under the Space Shuttle Endeavour inside the California Space Center – which is just across the park from the club’s new home-ground which will be ready by March – though tickets are already available on www.livefootballtickets.com.

Meanwhile, manager Bob Bradley was also pleased to have Vela as his first signing as it gives an example of how the club would like to proceed in their inaugural Major League Soccer season next term.

The 28-year-old has been a key contributor for Real Sociedad over the past six seasons with 72 goals and 41 assists in all competitions, but they eventually decided to cash in on the attacker with his contract due to expire next summer. Vela will link up with new expansion franchise at the turn of the year.

The defending champions of the men’s Olympic football event have crashed out of the tournament. Mexico lost their last hope of making it on to defend their title when they slumped to a narrow defeat to Korea Republic.

The Group C games were very competitive, yet many fancied the defending champions to at least get a quarter final ticket, but it seems the other teams wanted it more.

Korea defeated Mexico 1-0 in the final round of games in Group C. The match was played in Brasilia on Wednesday. The results meant Korea were top of the group, and would face Honduras in the quarter final on Saturday, August 13, 2016. For thse thinking how to bet on Rio Games, Brazil remai the current favourites.

Germany joined the others in mauling Fiji 10-0 in the other round of games, joining Korea in the next stage of the tournament which has brought many surprises. Two-time champions Argentina crashed out, and host Brazil who were one of the favourites to lift the trophy nearly lost out until last minute effort gave them a chance to move ahead.

Mexico hoped the Rio Olympic Games would help ease the pain they suffered at the recently concluded Copa America Centenario hosted by the United States. Mexico crashed 7-0 against Chile at the tournament, though they went on to win the title defeating Argentina in a keenly contested final. El Tri hoped to cause a smile in football but the champions couldn’t even make it out of the group stage, despite finishing excellently just four years ago in London.

The Mexican Olympic team was blunt in attack, the midfield was not as creative and the defence went to sleep when it mattered the most. Despite the strong initial resistance, Korea’s Chang-Hoon Kwon waltzed in and scored the only goal that separated both sides in the 77th minute.

Atlanta United remain interested in signing Carlos Vela, despite the player’s stance. According to ESPN’s John Sutcliffe, Atlanta United want the Mexican to join their squad along with PSV Eindhoven midfielder Andres Guardado.

Sutcliffe made the revelation when Mexico played against Paraguay at the Georgia Dome. Sutcliffe is known as one of the most reliable Mexican news sources.

He said “I know from good sources that they [Atlanta United] are going after Andres Guardado and also, Carlos Vela. They have an advantage as the new LA team (LAFC) will not start until 2018.”

Both of the players have active contracts that will run through the 2017/2018 season but Atlanta United are insistent on getting their signatures, especially as there a lot of Mexican-American fans in Atlanta. The club want to also use the players to boost the hype ahead of their inaugural season at the Major League Soccer.

The club has some pretty big backers from across a wide spectrum of businesses, so have the financial firepower to agree terms with top-class footballers like Carlos Vela, but this current gambit seems to be a bit of a gamble on their behalf – to us it seems a bit like putting money in one of the slot machines you see online (visit the site if you don’t know what I’m going on about!) Atlanta will give the slots a spin, but whether they manage to get an international fotballer such as Vela depends very much on luck.

Vela played in Mexico in the early stage of his career at Guadalajara before moving to England to play for Arsenal in 2005. He was loaned out to Celta de Vigo, then UD Salamanca and CA Osasuna all in Spain year after year. He eventually played for the club in 2007 but didn’t impress so he was sent on another loan to West Brom. He was loaned to Real Sociedad in 2011 but the club officially signed him in 2012.

The speculations started to arise last season upon the poor performance of Vela for Real. He had only five goals in the La Liga at the end, fueling the speculations. It was a very poor campaign for the Mexican as he has scored 51 goals in his past four seasons. However despite all these, the player through his agent Eduaro Hernandez insists he intends to remain in Spain.

Mexico manager Juan Carlos Osorio named his squad last week with two players being notably absent. The leaving out of Carlos Vela and Dos Santos received large scale condemnation but the coach insists that their absence will not hurt the team deep at the continental championship being held in United States this summer.

Fans of El Tri and the demanding media that speaks for them are largely placated by the 23 players called for this summer’s tournament in the United States. Part of the reason there’s not much anger is the current depth of the player pool.

The European crew of Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez, Miguel Layun, Hector Herrera and Jesus “Tecatito” Corona are on the list. Hector Moreno, Andres Guardado and Raul Jimenez enter the summer after winning championships with their European sides. Young players like Hirving Lozano and Jurgen Damm are in the squad. All in all it leaves Mexico with a great chance to progress far in the Cup, so it’s no wonder that the latest StanJames betting odds make Mexico one of the favourites.

The most notable absences are LA Galaxy attacker Giovani dos Santos, his brother, Villarreal midfielder Jonathan dos Santos, and Real Sociedad forward Carlos Vela.

Osorio in a Tuesday’s news conference announced that the Galaxy’s Dos Santos wasn’t in the list of players because of his own choice. “Giovani himself declined the invitation,” Osorio said. “Ethically, what was spoken about with him stays between us.”

Osorio also discussed with Carlos Vela, another omission from the squad, before the fall’s World Cup qualifiers and ended up convincing the Real Sociedad forward to play. It’s unclear whether it was Osorio’s decision not to bring Vela in or one that would be justifiable after a poor campaign in Spain. There are also questions if the player once again decided he won’t wear his nation’s colors.

Osorio added “At the end, the decision on Carlos was discussed and orderly. We agreed with him that he’s not in his best form.”

Real Sociedad’s Carlos Vela has been fined after it was discovered that he attended a concert of Chris Brown and the Mexican player had told his club that he was going to miss a training session due to suffering from gastroenteritis but Vela was perfectly fine and he just used that as an excuse to skip a Monday training session from his team.

It still hasn’t been officially confirmed or announced what Carlos Vela will have to pay as part of the financial sanction but it’s rumored that it’s going to be a significant sum of money and this is due to the ‘’internal code of discipline’’ of Real Sociedad. This internal code will be the decisive factor in the amount of money that Carlos Vela has to splash out as part of his sanction.

Besides the financial part that Carlos Vela has to pay, it’s also believed that he will have to train alone for a few days.
The 27 year old winger has already met up again with the Sporting Director of Real Sociedad, Loren and the general manager Inaki Otegi as the Mexican player apologized to the head chiefs of the Spanish club as well as with his teammates.

Carlos Vela is a consistent starter for Real Sociedad but this recent event that occurred might harm his chances of getting back into the starting lineup of the head coach Eusebio Sacristan. He has also previously apologised to his team-mates for skipping training to bet on horse racing with StanJames, but that was when he was a lot younger, and much more impressionable – hopefully he will take the issue seriously this time around.

Athletes of any sport are usually held to very high standards and this is no different from soccer players, there is nothing wrong for a player to go out to a concert and just have fun with friends but the problem of Carlos Vela is that he had told Real Sociedad that he was suffering from a health issue which was a complete lie and he used that as a cover to do something else.