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The Ballon d'Or is without doubt the most prestigious individual honour in football. While the distinguished award has changed many hands, we've gotten used to seeing Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo confine it to a battle between themselves.
Luka Modric is the only player to have broken the Ronaldo-Messi duopoly over the Ballon d'Or. The Croatian international won the award in 2018 before Messi recaptured it in 2019. With both Ronaldo and Messi walking into the twilight of their careers, we are soon going to have a vacant throne.
Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe won't be alone in the Ballon d'Or race in the future
The likes of Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland are viewed as the successors to Ronaldo and Messi. There are a few other young players who have already earned the 'world-class' tag. But today, we're not going to look at them.
We will be looking at five players who are pretty incredible at what they do but are not exactly fancied to be future Ballon d'Or winners. Let's not waste more time and dive right in.
#5 Mason Mount (Chelsea)
The footballing world is well aware of the fact that Chelsea have a world-class youth academy. But bankrolled by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, Chelsea have consistently looked for solutions outside.
Mason Mount is a welcome aberration of that trend. The young Englishman is a hard-working, technically sound midfielder with excellent close control and dribbling ability. He also possesses good acceleration which he uses to create or move into space when faced with one-on-one situations.
The 22-year-old has showcased great improvement at a steady rate since breaking onto the first team set up in the 2019-20 season. He played a starring role in Chelsea's UEFA Champions League triumph in the 2020-21 season as well.
He is already one of the best playmakers in the Premier League at the age of 22. If Mount keeps growing at the rate we've seen him do over the past few seasons, he could very well be in the running for the Ballon d'Or by the time he hits his peak.
#4 Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain)
The fact that Gianluigi Donnarumma is still only 22-years-old beggars belief. He has been performing at the highest level for six years. Donnarumma has now joined a star-studded Paris Saint-Germain side that could very well be the vehicle that takes him closer to his Ballon d'Or ambitions.
The Italian international is one of the best goalkeepers on the planet and was the hero of the Euro 2020 penalty shootout for the Azzurri against England. Donnarumma was also picked as the Player of the Tournament at Euro 2020.
He already showcases maturity way beyond his age with his discipline, intelligence and decision-making earning him plenty of praise. Donnarumma is also a wonderful shot-stopper. His ball handling, agility and command over his box are all virtues that great goalkeepers have possessed.
#3 Mason Greenwood (Manchester United)
Mason Greenwood is blossoming into a top-class finisher at Manchester United. Like Chelsea, Manchester United are also renowned for their youth academy, which produces world-class talent on a regular basis. Greenwood is a player who will undoubtedly make the Red Devils proud.
A two-footed striker with blistering pace and unreal finishing ability, Greenwood's highlight reel at the age of 19 is already mindblowing. Work needs to be done with respect to his aerial ability but the youngster has showcased great industry and technical proficiency already.
In the 2019-20 season, which was his breakout campaign for Manchester United, an 18-year-old Greenwood scored 19 goals across all competitions. A few personal issues caused a dip in form in the first half of the 2020-21 season.
But Greenwood returned looking sharper in all aspects of his game. He has become a brilliant ball carrier who can beat defenders and send them playing catch up all evening. His greatest strength is his finishing and he has already made a habit of scoring goals from tight angles.
The 19-year-old has got off to a great start to the 2021-22 season, scoring two goals in two Premier League appearances so far.
#2 Pedri (Barcelona)
This young workhorse from Spain has been playing football non-stop for the past year and a half. But has that seemed to faze him? Has that contributed to a drop in the quality of his performances? Not in the least. Pedri is a phenomenon at the age of 18.
Already likened to Barcelona greats like Xavi and Andres Iniesta, the nimble-footed midfielder has been turning heads ever since joining Barcelona in 2020. He impressed Ronald Koeman so much that he played a whopping 52 games for the Catalans in the 2020-21 season.
If that wasn't enough, Pedri was a standout performer for Spain in their run to the semi-finals of Euro 2020. He was chosen as the Best Young Player of the Tournament. Pedri then joined the Spanish side that went to the Olympics and won the silver medal.
Inside the last 12 months, Pedri played 76 matches for club and country. He has finally been afforded a two-week break which we can only file under 'humanitarian consideration'. But there's no doubt that if he keeps it up, Pedri is going to be in the Ballon d'Or conversation pretty soon.
#1 Federico Chiesa (Juventus)
Federico Chiesa is the unsung hero of Italy's Euro 2020 triumph. The Juventus forward was a live-wire throughout and was the Azzurri's best player in the final against England. Chiesa had an excellent debut season with Juventus after joining on loan from Fiorentina in the summer of 2020.
The pacy and technically brilliant winger looks destined for greatness. He scored 15 goals and provided 11 assists in 46 appearances across all competitions for the Bianconeri in the 2020-21 season.
Chiesa is an aggressive and hardworking player. He can play on either wing, as a second striker or even as an attacking midfielder. He has even been used as a striker and a central midfielder. Chiesa also never shies away from dispensing his defensive duties.
Juventus fans are eagerly waiting to see how his attacking partnership with Cristiano Ronaldo will play out this season. This could very well be the season where Chiesa truly announces his arrival to the world.
