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What's the story?
In a surprising turn of events, five-time Ballon d'Or winners Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have been left out of the top three for the award during the halfway mark in voting. Instead, three other players have emerged as favourites for the award this year.
In case you didn't know...
The release of France Football's 30-man shortlist of nominees for this year's edition of the Ballon d'Or award has prompted the football-loving crowd including players themselves to pick their favourites for the prestigious accolade.
The list of nominees includes the two players who have dominated the award in the past decade, winning it five times each - Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo- and a host of other worthy players including Sergio Aguero, Alisson Becker, Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema, Edinson Cavani, Thibaut Courtois, Kevin De Bruyne, Roberto Firmino, Diego Godin, Antoine Griezmann, Eden Hazard, Isco, Harry Kane, N’Golo Kante, Hugo Lloris, Mario Mandzukic, Sadio Mane, Marcelo, Kylian Mbappe, Luka Modric, Neymar, Paul Pogba, Ivan Rakitic, Sergio Ramos, Mohamed Salah, Luis Suarez, Jan Oblak and Raphael Varane.
While Ronaldo and Messi have been at the top of their game for a decade, a good number of people have tipped another player to win the award this year, breaking the decade-long duopoly held by the Argentine and Portuguese aces.
The heart of the matter
According to Eric Mamruth (via FoxSports), a journalist for RFI, neither Ronaldo or Messi features in the top three during the halfway mark in voting.
Instead, the top three has been filled by Luka Modric in the first place, Raphael Varane in second and World Cup star Kylian Mbappe in third place.
Croatia's Luka Modric has been considered to be a top favourite for the award having won the FIFA Men's Player of the Year award earlier this year after his Champions League glory with Real Madrid and his World Cup exploits in Russia.
French duo Raphael Varane and Kylian Mbappe, on the other hand, have had an impressive season with their Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain respectively and France's World Cup win was just the cherry on top of what has been a very delicious cake.
What's next?
As it stands, football looks set to have a new king but given that the voting count is at the halfway mark, anything can change.
