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The 63rd edition of the Ballon d'Or will be awarded to the best player of the year, on the 3rd of December in Paris.
2018 has been an eventful one, to say the least. The 2018 FIFA World Cup proved to be a grand spectacle, as France ran away with the trophy.
The fact that both, Lionel Messi (with Argentina) and Cristiano Ronaldo (with Portugal) failed to find glory has given us, perhaps, the best opportunity to witness in the dominant duopoly maintained by these two superstars over the last decade.
As several other contenders have emerged as contenders for the coveted trophy, the buildup in this final month before the ceremony has been electrifying. Some top players from around the world gave it their all, while others faltered.
With just 4 days to go until the ceremony, there have been significant changes on this month's Power Rankings as compared to last month's.
On that note, here is a look at our final Ballon d'Or power rankings for 2018:
#10 Eden Hazard (-5)
Having been listed at 5th place in last month's edition, Chelsea and Belgium superstar, Eden Hazard, has seen his ranking drop steeply, as he has fallen from 5th to 10th on the rankings.
The 27-year-old hasn't had the best month and has seemingly struggled as compared to the form he seemed to be in previously.
In the last month, Hazard has played a total of 6 matches - 4 with Chelsea (3 in the Premier League and 1 in the UEFA Europa League) and 2 with Belgium in the UEFA Nations League. In those 6 matches, Hazard only notched 1 assist - against Crystal Palace - and no goals.
As Hazard has, so have Chelsea, in terms of creativity and killer instinct, winning just 3 points from their last 3 fixtures. Notably, they also saw their unbeaten streak ripped apart by Tottenham Hotspur.
#9 Mohamed Salah (-3)
After an unstoppable first season at Liverpool, Mohamed Salah has certainly slowed down this season. Moreover, the Egyptian has been largely inconsistent, failing to replicate last season's form continuously.
In the last edition of our rankings, Salah had climbed 2 spots and reached 6th place. However, over the last month, he played a total of 6 matches (3 Premier League matches and 2 UEFA Champions League matches with Liverpool, 1 AFCON match with Egypt), but managed to score only 3 goals, assisting none.
Salah's dip in form, coupled with the contrastingly excellent form that certain other players have been in, sees him drop from 6th to 9th on our rankings.
#8 Raheem Sterling
Raheem Sterling is one of the players who have been in sensational form recently. The 23-year-old Manchester City and England star wasn't in our top 10 last month but has magically catapulted himself into it this time around.
In the past month, Sterling has played a total of 6 matches (3 Premier League and 2 Champions League matches with Manchester City and 1 Nations League match with England).
4 goals and 4 assists are what Sterling managed to claim in those 6 matches, as City and England continue to exert their dominance. As a result, Sterling suddenly finds himself in 8th place on our rankings
#7 Luka Modric (-4)
At the end of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Luka Modric was widely touted to be favourite to win this year's Ballon d'Or. He had just won the UEFA Champions League with Real Madrid and then he captained Croatia to a miraculous second-placed finish.
However, since then, things have gone downhill for Modric as Real Madrid have simply struggled this season after the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo. While last month proved to be an improved one for Los Blancos, Modric wasn't as influential as he would have liked to be.
With Croatia, Modric played 2 UEFA Nations League matches as they won one and lost one.
The 33-year-old amassed just 2 assists all month and has resultingly fallen from 3rd to 7th place on our rankings.
#6 Neymar (+2)
Paris Saint-Germain and Brazil superstar, Neymar, was placed 8th in last month's edition. Since then, Neymar has endured an injury, but he has also performed at every opportunity.
As a result of injury, Neymar only played 4 matches last month, all 4 of which were for Paris Saint-German (2 in Ligue 1 and 2 in the Champions League), and scored 3 goals and picked up 1 assist.
Notably, he also scored for Brazil in an international friendly, although friendlies aren't considered while compiling these rankings. In short, Neymar has been in excellent form and has majorly influenced PSG's success.
Owing to his feats, Neymar climbs from 8th to 6th on our rankings.
#5 Kylian Mbappe (-1)
Arguably ones of the best footballers in the world at the moment, Kylian Mbappe was touted to be one of the favourites to win the Ballon d'Or, owing to his success with Paris Saint-Germain and the World Cup-winning French team.
In the last edition, Mbappe was ranked 4th, but has now slipped down a spot, after an injury cost him some match time. Altogether, the 19-year-old played 5 matches over the last month - 3 for PSG (2 Ligue 1, 2 Champions League) and 1 for France in the Nations League.
From those 5 appearances, Mbappe only scored 1 goal and assisted 2 others. Further, the match for France ended with a 2-0 victory to their opponents, the Dutch team. Consequently, Mbappe drops from 4th to 5th.
#4 Harry Kane (+6)
Tottenham Hotspur have enjoyed a glorious month, winning all 5 of their matches last month. 3 of those came in the Premier League, including the crucial 3-1 victory against Chelsea, while the other two came against PSV and Inter Milan in the Champions League.
Unsurprisingly, Harry Kane has been a large factor influencing the side's success. The English striker has played in all 5 matches, and also played for England against Croatia in the Nations League, bringing his total to 6 matches.
In those 6 matches, Kane scored 5 goals and assisted another. He scored goals in the Premier League, the Champions League and the Nations League, asserting his dominance in every competition.
Therefore, it can't be surprising to see that Kane has jumped from 10th to 4th on our rankings.
#3 Antoine Griezmann (+4)
Another player who has been in exceptional form is France and Atletico Madrid's Antoine Griezmann. The 27-year-old was ranked 7th in the last edition but has jumped from 7th to 3rd after a spell of impressive performances.
Over the past month, Griezmann has played a total of 6 matches - 5 for Atletico Madrid and 1 for France - and has scored 3 goals and assisted 3 more. There is no denying that he has been a significant presence for club and country all year.
Coupled with the weight of a World Cup win, Griezmann's form and statistics give him a real shot at a top-three finish.
#2 Cristiano Ronaldo (-1)
The winner of last year's Ballon d'Or, Cristiano Ronaldo, has had an eventful year. He won the UEFA Champions League with Real Madrid, before completing a move to Juventus earlier this summer.
Ronaldo's World Cup run was poor, and he took a while to settle down at Juventus, but the Portuguese sensation seems to be back to his best. He became the first player in history to win 100 Champions League matches, while also becoming the fastest to reach 10 goals in Juventus' history.
Ronaldo was ranked 1st last month. Since then, he has scored a total of 3 goals and assisted 2 more in 5 matches across all competitions for Juventus. However, he has dropped from 1st to 2nd this month, and it isn't because he hasn't performed, but only because he was outperformed.
Regardless, Ronaldo is widely favoured to win this year's Ballon d'Or as well.
#1 Lionel Messi (+1)
Perhaps the only being on the planet capable of outperforming Ronaldo, Lionel Messi has gone about doing just that.
Messi, too, endured a tough and unsuccessful World Cup campaign. He also failed to win the Champions League. However, at Barcelona, Messi won La Liga, Copa del Rey and Supercopa de Espana in 2018. He also won the 2018 European Golden Shoe, which is awarded to the top scorer from across Europe's top leagues.
Last month, Messi was ranked 2nd on our rankings. Since then, he has also scored 3 goals and assisted 2 more - the same as Ronaldo - but in just 3 matches. Owing to injury, Messi was able to play fewer games, but he stamped his authority all over every time he stepped onto the pitch.
As a result, Messi has climbed from 2nd to 1st on our final rankings.
