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On 3rd June 2017, Real Madrid created history, becoming the first team ever to win back-to-back UEFA Champions League titles. Not only that, Zinedine Zidane's side also celebrated a famous double, having secured their first La Liga title in 5 years only a few days before their Champions League victory.
The Ballon d'Or race looked done and dusted, for Cristiano Ronaldo had played a pivotal role in Los Blancos' historic triumph.
Fast forward 172 days and nothing looks done and dusted anymore. The race to win the Ballon d'Or this year is as close as one can imagine - something unfathomable only a few months ago.
What earlier looked like a competition between the 28 other shortlisted players to finish 3rd behind the usual suspects, has slowly turned into an unpredictable race, gearing up for a nail-biting finale.
The tables have turned. While Cristiano Ronaldo and Real Madrid have struggled to string together a couple of good games, Lionel Messi has almost single-handedly carried Barcelona on more occasions than one and ensured that the Camp Nou outfit are unbeaten since the two defeats against their arch-rivals in the Supercopa de Espana.
With the dynamics of the Ballon d'Or race changing constantly, we take a look at the 5 leading contenders for one of the most prestigious and coveted awards in world football:
#5 Edinson Cavani (Paris Saint-Germain/Uruguay)
Edinson Cavani's stock absolutely plummeted ever since he completed his big-money move to Paris Saint-Germain. Three years of living in the shadows of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, which saw him being shunted to the wings, tarnished his reputation as one of the most lethal strikers in football.
Cavani enjoyed a great last season, individually at least, but saw his side's Ligue 1 monopoly challenged by AS Monaco, who eventually pipped the Parc des Princes-based outfit to the league title. The Uruguayan hitman netted 49 goals in all competitions last season and was only behind Lionel Messi in the overall goalscoring charts.
While the narrative against the former Napoli man was that most of these goals had been scored against weaker Ligue 1 opponents, the same cannot be said anymore, especially considering that the same French league now has two of the most expensive players in the history of the game.
If Neymar can be considered to be a contender for the Ballon d'Or (future or present) despite playing in France, then why shouldn't his strike partner be afforded the same opportunity.
Further, even teenage sensation Kylian Mbappe was considered by many to be one of the favourites to finish in the top 5, if not top 3, of the race for the coveted prize. Then why shouldn't Cavani be considered?
We have often been too harsh on, and too critical of Cavani, however, his stats speak loud enough. While the dazzling Neymar has scored 13 goals in 11 appearances for PSG, Cavani has netted 19 in the same period, albeit in 5 more games. In the same time, Mbappe has netted 6 goals in 12 games.
While two out of the magical trio are the two most expensive footballers in the history of the game, the third is Edinson Cavani, who has scored an equal number of goals as the other two combined.
With that, I rest my case.
#4 Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City/Belgium)
Pep Guardiola's Manchester City have established themselves as the current best team in the Premier League and are slowly making a reputation for themselves as one of the most attack-minded, fearsome, and ruthless teams in all of Europe.
The Etihad outfit have made short work of their opponents and are unbeaten across all competitions this season. The man who can be credited for having played the most pivotal part in ensuring City dominate their opponents is Kevin de Bruyne.
Many pundits have hailed the Belgium as the current best player in England. While it isn't such a straight-forward answer, a genuine case can be made for De Bruyne.
The Belgian midfielder is unplayable at times and is the one making things tick for Guardiola's side. If City are to win the Premier League title and challenge for the UEFA Champions League this season, De Bruyne will need to be at the best of his abilities.
And who knows, next season, he might even break into the top 3, or higher. Your guess is as good as mine.
#3 Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain/Brazil)
Neymar left Barcelona for Paris Saint-Germain earlier this year in a world record €222m deal, as the Brazilian allegedly wanted to step out of Lionel Messi's shadow and embark on his quest to become the best in the world and ultimately the Ballon d'Or.
The Brazilian has not looked back ever since and has been ending careers of Ligue 1 defenders for fun. The 25-year-old will need to wait and pull off something extraordinary if he wants to break the Messi-Ronaldo duopoly in the Ballon d'Or race.
He does have the tools and the skills to become the best. He even has a team, which is tailormade to suit his style of play.
Now all that Neymar has to do to ensure that he helps PSG win the UEFA Champions League, or help Brazil lift the World Cup, and the Ballon d'Or will most likely be his.
For now, though, he will have to settle for a 3rd place finish.
#2 Lionel Messi (Barcelona/Argentina)
The mere fact that the Ballon d'Or race is still alive, as we approach the end of November, is down to the defiance of one man. Lionel Andres Messi.
Back in August, after a rather forgettable end to their domestic campaign, Barcelona were in shambles. They had lost back-to-back matches against Real Madrid, in which they were played out of the park by Zinedine Zidane's side. On top of that, they had lost Neymar to PSG.
The signs of the decline of Messi's Barcelona were visible to one and all, and pundits and fans alike were quick to write them off. But how do you write off a team with Messi?
Despite the rather shambolic transfer window, The Blaugrana look to be in good shape and have taken a healthy 4-point lead at the top of La Liga, and are unbeaten across all competitions since THAT loss against Real Madrid. It has been the diminutive Argentine who has defied the odds on many occasions and carried his team to safety.
If this was not enough, the 30-year-old also did what he is so often criticized for not doing. He put in one of his best performances for the Argentine national team, that too, when the team and the nation needed him to deliver the most.
Argentina needed a win in their last World Cup qualifier away to Ecuador. A loss or a draw could potentially cost La Albiceleste a place at the premier showpiece in Russia next year. To make things worse, Jorge Sampaoli's side were trailing within the 1st minute of the game.
Argentina were not missing out on the World Cup, not on Messi's watch. He might have failed to have taken them home 3 years ago in Brazil, but he needed one more shot at redeeming himself, and he was not ready to give up.
The fleet-footed forward scored a sensational hat-trick to ensure that Argentina don't miss out on the World Cup, thereby further complicating the Ballon d'Or race.
#1 Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid/Portugal)
Everything was going according to plan for Cristiano Ronaldo and Real Madrid. It was almost as if the gods were smiling down upon them, blessing them on every step of their journey.
The Santiago Bernabeu-based outfit scripted history with their clinical rout of Juventus in the final of the UEFA Champions League, with Ronaldo netting a brace.
The journey since has been nothing like a walk in the park, but more like an incredibly difficult mountain trek. Ronaldo and Real Madrid have struggled in La Liga, while brushing off teams in the Champions League.
Ronaldo has struggled so much in the league this season, that he has only managed to find the back of the net on one occasion in 8 matches. On the other hand, he has netted 8 in 5 UEFA Champions League games.
Despite his wretched run of form, and Los Blancos being 10 points behind Barcelona in La Liga, how do you put anything past what the team and the Portuguese sensation have achieved in the first part of the year?
To be honest, it is so close between Messi and Ronaldo this year, that it was almost impossible to put one in second position and the other at Numero Uno. But you gotta do what you gotta do, right?
Messi has had an incredible year individually, some would even say, it was one of his best, if not the best. However, Ronaldo has had a good year too, individually, and a terrific first half of it with Real Madrid.
Given that football is a team sport, it is apt that a team's collective success should prevail over the inimitable genius of an individual.
Thus, when that envelope is opened on 7th December, we very much expect Cristiano Ronaldo to be crowned the Ballon d'Or winner for the 5th time in his career - helping him draw level with his arch-rival Lionel Messi.
