Ballon d'Or 2017 Power Rankings - August

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo
Will one of Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo win the Ballon d'Or?

Ballon d'Or has now become a barometer to measure some of the best players in the world of football. The race to win the coveted award has been dominated by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo for the past 9 years, with the Argentine being crowned the best player in the world on 5 occasions, while his arch-rival, Ronaldo, has won it on 4 occasions.

The Portuguese sensation is currently the odds on favourite to be crowned the Ballon d'Or 2017 winner, having helped his club retain UEFA Champions League, while also helping them win the La Liga title.

Here we take a look at the 5 leading contenders for the prestigious award handed out by France Football:


#5 Sergio Ramos

Replacing Kylian Mbappe at #5 is Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos. The AS Monaco sensation dropped out of the top 5 after failing to secure a starting berth under Leonardo Jardim in the new season.

Also, with Mbappe joining Paris Saint-Germain, the 18-year-old will surely be competing for game time with other stars, thereby further reducing his chances to win the Ballon d'Or. And when Neymar plays for a team, unless you are Lionel Messi, you cannot be better than him.

Coming back to Sergio Ramos, the Spanish international played a key role in Zinedine Zidane's side doing the double last season and continues to lead from the front - if and when his team requires a leader.

The 31-year-old made 44 appearances for Los Blancos last season, scoring 10 goals while assisting another 3, all that for a defender.

Even Ramos himself has fancied his chances of lifting the coveted trophy. Speaking in a recent interview with Italian magazine Undici, Ramos said: "Recently it has been a personal matter between Messi and Cristiano.But Cannavaro, for example, won it and I do not see it as crazy for me to win it. If they give it to me, it will be a historical moment."

However, for now, despite overtaking Kylian Mbappe, Ramos is only 5th in the Ballon d'Or power rankings.

#4 Gianluigi Buffon

Juventus v Cagliari Calcio - Serie A
Can he become the first man since Lev Yashin to win the Ballon d'Or?

The Italian veteran was in with a shout to win Ballon d'Or, right up until the UEFA Champions League final. Having kept 8 clean-sheets in the competition en route to the final, it was believed that the 39-year-old could cap off his legendary career with an elusive Champions League title, while also becoming the first player since Lev Yashin to lift the coveted trophy.

Then Cristiano Ronaldo and Real Madrid offered, and the Champions League and the Ballon d'Or were all but a fleeting glimpse. It is still possible, but very unlikely, that Gianluigi Buffon could win the Ballon d'Or and hence he finishes 4th.

#3 Neymar

Neymar
Neymar - on his way to becoming the best in the world?

Neymar was already considered the 3rd best player in the world, while he was still at Barcelona. Ever since then, the Brazilian has completed a world record €222m move to Paris Saint-Germain and is poised to establish himself as the best in the world in the coming years.

Following his move to PSG, the 25-year-old has been involved in 6 goals in the 3 games that he has participated in, scoring thrice, while assisting another 3.

Neymar moved to PSG from Barcelona, to move away from the shadow of Lionel Messi, as he embarks on his quest to becoming the best in the world. The Brazilian has thus moved up by one slot to feature at 3rd position in the Ballon d'Or Power Rankings for August.

#2 Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi has started the season the same way he ended the last one - carrying Barcelona on his back. Following the departure of Neymar and the injury to Luis Suarez, the onus is now on the Argentine - more than ever - to carry the Catalan giants out of the predicament that they are currently in.

Messi arguably enjoyed one of his best seasons in 2016/17, individually at least, but a lack of support from his teammates, coupled with a tactically inept manager, meant that Barcelona ended the season with only the Copa del Rey.

While the departure of Enrique and Neymar has not helped things, there is a glimmer of hope with the arrival of Ousmane Dembele for a club record fee.

The Argentine had a healthy lead over Cristiano Ronaldo both in terms of number of Champions League titles won and the number of Ballon d'Or awards collected, and will surely be eager to prove that his Barcelona are not done yet. He has started the season in fine form, scoring 3 goals in the first 4 games that he has played and he won't be stopping anytime soon.

For now, the 30-year-old is 2nd in Ballon d'Or Power Rankings for the month of August.

#1 Cristiano Ronaldo

Crisitiano Ronaldo
Crisitiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo is the odds on favourite to win the coveted award for the 5th time in his career. If he does win the Ballon d'Or, he will be tied along with Lionel Messi at 5, ensuring that the duo have shared the award between them for the last decade.

The Portuguese played a pivotal role in almost single-handedly taking Zinedine Zidane's side past the quarter-finals, semi-finals and then to overcome the last hurdle in the form of Juventus. He plundered goals for fun both home and away as Real Madrid became the first team in the Champions League era to successfully defend the title. The 32-year-old also helped Real Madrid win their first league title since 2011/12.

The season didn't start how Ronaldo would have expected it to, as after scoring a screamer in the Supercopa de Espana against Barcelona, the Portuguese was sent off and was subsequently handed a 4-match ban.

Despite it all, Cristiano Ronaldo still remains the favourite to be crowned the Ballon d'Or winner this year and hence he tops our Power Rankings for August.

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Edited by Shaurya Vineet