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The Ballon d'Or, awarded by France Football, is one of the most prestigious individual accolades a footballer can win.
First started in 1956, the Ballon d'Or award has been won by some of the finest players to have graced the game. Some notable examples are Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Michel Platini and Marco van Basten, to name a few.
For the 2021 edition of the award, several world-class players comprise the 30-man shortlist. Meanwhile, Draft Kings has released the odds for this year's Ballon d'Or nominees.
On that note, here's a look at the ten players with the best odds to win this year's Ballon d'Or award on 29th November, 2021.
Odds for the 2021 Ballon d'Or award as per Draft Kings
#10 Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur/England): +4000
Harry Kane has had a stellar year for club and country in 2021. The Englishman starred especially well in the first half of the year.
Although he has no trophies to show for his efforts, Kane topped the Premier League goals (23) and assists charts (14) even as Tottenham Hotspur finished seventh. After winning his third Premier League Golden Boot, the 28-year-old sizzled for England at Euro 2020 this summer.
Kane scored four times in seven games, including the winner against Denmark in the semis, to take The Three Lions to the final. Unfortunately, Kane and co fell to Italy in a penalty shootout.
This season, Kane has scored seven times across competitions, but only once in the league. Although he has won a few personal accolades this year, the lack of a trophy is unlikely to land Kane the 2021 Ballon d'Or award.
Note: Neymar and Romelu Lukaku also have +4000 odds to win this year's Ballon d'Or award.
#9 Kylian Mbappe (PSG/France): +3500
Kylian Mbappe is widely regarded as one of the best young players in the game at the moment.
Still only 22, the 2018 FIFA World Cup winner produced one of the best seasons of his fledgeling club career. Mbappe amassed 42 goals in all competitions, but PSG were pipped to the Ligue 1 title by Lille. Meanwhile, in the UEFA Champions League, they were ousted by Manchester City in the semis. Mbappe only had the French Cup to show for his efforts.
The Frenchman drew a rare blank at Euro 2020 as France exited in the Round of 16 after Mbappe missed his spot-kick in the shootout against Switzerland. However, he was back to his best in the Nations League, scoring in the semi-final and final to win his second title in national team colors.
He has had a rather quiet start to his 2021-22 campaign, scoring 'only' six goals in 14 games across competitions. Considering his exploits with club and country, it seems unlikely Mbappe will win the 2021 Ballon d'Or winner. But he is definitely touted as a future winner of the prestigious award.
#8 Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City/Belgium): +2500
Kevin De Bruyne is one of the best active players not to have won the Ballon d'Or award yet.
Manchester City's midfield metronome had another memorable year. An injury-plagued campaign meant he didn't post the kind of stellar numbers he has done in his last few campaigns. Nevertheless, De Bruyne's nine goals and 16 assists across competitions helped City win their Premier League title in four years. The Cityzens also reached their first Champions League final.
During the season, he became the quickest player to record 50 Premier League assists.
For Belgium, De Bruyne scored once in four games and provided two assists as the Red Devils lost to eventual champions Italy in the final. In the Nations League finals, he bagged three assists as Belgium lost to Italy in the third-place playoff.
Considering his exploits this year, De Bruyne should finish high in the 2021 Ballon d'Or rankings; but a podium finish is unlikely.
#7 Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus/Manchester United/Portugal): +2500
Cristiano Ronaldo, a five-time Ballon d'Or winner, has had another stellar year for club and country. However, the absence of any major title could jeopardize his chances of winning a sixth to move level with Lionel Messi (more on him later).
He scored 29 goals to win his first Capocannonieri award, but Juventus failed to defend their Serie A title. Ronaldo did win the Coppa Italia earlier this year, though.
For Portugal, Ronaldo scored five times at Euro 2020 to win the Golden Boot award even as the holders crashed out in the Round of 16. Weeks later, he scored a brace in a FIFA World Cup qualifier to become the most prolific scorer in men's international football.
Ronaldo returned to Manchester United this summer, where he won his first Ballon d'Or award more than a decade ago. He has hit the ground running, scoring six times across competitions, but United are in the midst of a poor run of results.
As he didn't win any major titles this year, Ronaldo is unlikely to win his sixth Ballon d'Or award in 2021.
#6 Karim Benzema (Real Madrid/France): +1500
Karim Benzema has the sixth-best odds to win the 2021 Ballon d'Or award. After being in the shadows of Ronaldo for almost a decade, the Frenchman has led the line admirably for Real Madrid over the years.
He scored at least 20 league goals for the third-straight season as holders Madrid were narrowly beaten to the La Liga title by Atletico Madrid. Benzema scored six times in the Champions League as the 13-time winners reached their first semi-final in the competition in three years.
Making a return to international football for the first time in six years, Benzema scored four times at Euro 2020. However, France exited in the Round of 16. The Frenchman then scored in the semi-final and final to win the Nations League.
Benzema has started the season on a tear, already up to 11 goals and eight assists across competitions.
However, a lack of major titles with club and country could thwart his hopes of winning the 2021 Ballon d'Or award.
#5 N'Golo Kante (Chelsea/France): +1400
N'Golo Kante has been a stellar performer for club and country this year. Widely regarded as one of the finest defensive midfielders in the game at the moment, Kante played a key role in Chelsea's 2021-21 Champions League triumph.
He completed 100% of his tackles and completed all his take-ons in the final against Manchester City.
He played four games for France at Euro 2020, but was not in their victorious Nations League team due to injury. Nevertheless, his stellar exploits this year were enough to land him in the Ballon d'Or conversation.
Whether he goes on to win the prestigious accolade is another thing, though.
#4 Mohamed Salah: +1200
On current form, there are very few better players than Mohamed Salah at the moment. The Egyptian has been on a tear this season, bagging 22 goal contributions (17 goals, five assists) across competitions.
If the Ballon d'Or award were awarded purely on a player's numbers, Salah would have won this year's award without batting an eyelid. Unfortunately, that is rarely the case.
Salah had a strong finish to his previous campaign too, scoring 22 times as holders Liverpool finished a distant third.
Despite his stellar numbers, Salah has failed to win titles with club and country during the year. That makes him an unlikely winner of the 2021 Ballon d'Or award.
#3 Jorginho (Chelsea/Italy): +800
Jorginho is a strong contender for the 2021 Ballon d'Or award. That's because the Italian joined an exclusive list of players to win the Champions League and the European Championship in the same year.
Although he doesn't score much from open play, Jorginho is a key player in midfield for club and country. He determines the tempo of games, and is also a proficient penalty-taker. Considering his stellar exploits, the Italian became the first Chelsea player to win the UEFA Men's Player of the Year award.
There is no doubt about Jorginho being a frontrunner for this year's Ballon d'Or award. But it remains to be seen if voters opt for team accolades, personal ones, or a combination of both to decide this year's winner.
Considering his relative lack of goal contributions, Jorginho remains an unlikely winner of the Ballon d'Or, which has been dominated by attackers in recent years.
#2 Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich/Poland): +250
Robert Lewandowski has been ageing like fine wine. The prolific Bayern Munich broke the late Gerd Muller's record for most goals (40) in a Bundesliga campaign to lead Bayern to a ninth consecutive Bundesliga title.
The 33-year-old has already plundered 15 goals across competitions this season as Bayern lead both the Bundesliga and their Champions League group.
Lewandowski has also been on fire for Poland this year, scoring nine competitive goals, three of them at Euro 2020.
He had a stellar year in 2020, playing a key role in Bayern Munich's continental treble-winning campaign. However, the Ballon d'Or award got scrapped last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, possibly denying Lewandowski the prestigious accolade.
So it won't be unsurprising to see the Pole crowned the 2021 Ballon d'Or winner, considering his stellar exploits last year and in 2021.
#1 Lionel Messi (PSG/Argentina): -175
Who else but Lionel Messi? Despite failing to win a league title for the second straight year, the Argentine produced another sizzling individual campaign, winning a record-extending eighth Pichichi award (scoring 30 goals).
And, yes, he has negative odds of winning the 2021 Ballon d'Or award. All the other shortlisted players have positive odds, which means Messi has the best odds to land the prestigious award this year.
Messi then led from the front, bagging four goals and five assists in the Copa America 2021 to end Argentina's near three-decade-long trophy drought. After three final heartbreaks, Messi finally landed his first title with the country, also winning the Player of the Tournament award.
Messi has had a quiet start to life at PSG since arriving at the Ligue 1 giants this summer. He is yet to break his Ligue 1 duck in five games, but has scored thrice in as many Champions League games this season.
Nevertheless, Messi may have already done enough to stave off the competition and win a record-extending seventh Ballon d'Or award.
Barring an unlikely winner like Luka Modric in 2018, Messi could be crowned the 2021 Ballon d'Or winner next month.
