(Photos by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images and Maja Hitij/Bongarts/Getty Images)Ryan Babel has made a confident prediction regarding Liverpool and the Ballon d’Or after a disappointing night for the Reds at the 2025 ceremony on Monday night. Babel predicts Liverpool winner of Ballon d’Or by 2028Michael Owen remains the only Ballon d’Or recipient to have played for Liverpool in the award-winning year, and that was way back in 2001, but Babel is convinced that it won’t be much longer before that yawning gap is finally bridged. Taking to X on Tuesday afternoon, the former Reds attacker has predicted: ‘Within 3 years, a Liverpool player will take the Ballon d’Or home’. Could a younger star like Ryan Gravenberch be in the reckoning if he maintains his early season standards? Babel’s prediction of a Liverpool winner of the Ballon d’Or before 2028 seems plausible, especially if the team enjoys standout collective success in the coming seasons.