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The race for the 2018 Ballon d'Or award is getting hotter every day as top footballers continue to fight for the chance to be named the best player in the world this year - displaying their credentials with a lot of spectacular performances as well as reaching fantastic milestones in their respective careers.
France Football, the famous French magazine that awards the Ballon d'Or honor annually has taken a huge step towards deciding the winner this year, releasing a list of 30 contenders to fight for the accolade which consists of many top superstars including the likes of Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kevin De Bruyne, Luka Modric, Eden Hazard, Neymar Junior and Luis Suarez as well as a few newcomers including Alisson Becker, Hugo Lloris, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah.
It is never an easy task to rank the top contenders for the Ballon d'Or award this year, considering that many superstars were at incredible levels during the course of the term. Yet, we have spent some time working hard to sort these superstars and we have been able to come up with a list of the top 5 contenders for the award, ranking them in respect to their incredible performances during the year. Let's take a look at them below:
# 5. Antoine Griezmann
Often overlooked despite his incredible hardworking spirit and amazing achievements, Atletico Madrid talisman, Antoine Griezmann deserves a lot of recognition for his fantastic efforts and scintillating displays during the year.
The attacker was one of the top performers in the La Liga last season, bagging an amazing 19 goals and 9 assists in 32 appearances in the Spanish top flight. Even though his 2 goals and 2 assists were not enough to keep the Rojiblancos in the UEFA Champions League, the winger still ensured he contributed 6 impressive goals in the Europa League to conclude a decent European campaign for the capital club.
Griezmann followed his brilliant club season with another impressive outing with his nation in the recently concluded FIFA World Cup tournament in Russia, putting up a lot of spectacular displays and finding the back of the net a whopping 4 times.
# 4. Mohamed Salah
A switch from Roma to Liverpool during the summer of 2017 was all Egyptian superstar Mohamed Salah needed in order to raise his game to a supernatural height.
The winger left the Seria A to link up with Jurgen Klopp at Anfield last summer and that move acted as a gamechanger in his career - with the 26-year-old quickly establishing himself as one of the finest attackers in Europe during the previous term.
Salah was unstoppable in Liverpool's European campaign last season, bagging an amazing 10 goals and 5 assists in 13 appearances to lead The Reds into the final of the UEFA Champions League for the first time in over a decade while also outclassing every attacker in the English Premier League with his 32 goals and 11 assists in 36 appearances.
The Egyptian maestro was breaking records upon records in the English top flight last season, including Alan Shearer's record for most Premier League goals in a single 38-game campaign and he, finished the term with a whopping 43 goals and 16 assists across all competitions while also helping his nation to qualify for the prestigious FIFA World Cup tournament for the first time after missing out for over 28 years.
# 3. Luka Modric
From a war-stricken refugee to a European football icon and eventually a FIFA Player Of The Year award winner, Luka Modric has climbed very high on the ladder of immortality this year and his inclusion on the list doesn't need much explanation.
The midfielder played influential roles to help Real Madrid conquer Europe once more during the previous campaign, dictating play from the middle of the pitch, elevating the level of his teammates as well as acting as the go-to-guy in Real Madrid's midfield.
The Croatian was also without doubts, the best player during the FIFA World Cup in Russia, carrying the burden of guiding an underdog nation on the prestigious stage and impressing with the role so much that he led his country into the final of the competition for the first time in their history as well as claiming the prestigious FIFA Golden Ball for his electrifying efforts in the tournament.
#2. Lionel Messi
He might not have won any of both the UEFA and FIFA Player Of The Year awards recently but Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi remains one of the top contenders for the Ballon d'Or accolade this year as far as performances are concerned.
The Argentine was without a doubt the most prolific attacker across all European domestic leagues last season, bagging a whopping 34 goals and 12 assists in 36 La Liga appearances to claim both the Pichichi trophy and the European Golden Shoe during the campaign.
The winger finished the season with an impressive 44 goals and 18 assists in 52 appearances for Barcelona across all competitions and he stepped up for his nation once again, dragging La Albiceleste from behind and scoring a fantastic hat-trick against Ecuador to seal a vital 3-1 victory that ensured Argentina made it into the FIFA World Cup in Russia.
#1. Cristiano Ronaldo
There is no way this list will be complete without mentioning new Juventus signing, Cristiano Ronaldo. The attacker has been the most dominant player on the planet in each of the past 3 seasons and his performances during the year suggest he is still a fierce contender for the Ballon d'Or accolade this term.
The Portuguese was in a league of his own in the UEFA Champions League last season, running riot on his way to helping Real Madrid achieve another successful European campaign as well as bagging an unbelievable 15 goals and 3 assists to his name in the process.
The all-time scorer of the competition, Ronaldo also became the first superstar to score in 10 successive games in the European tournament as well as the very first person to finish on top of the goalscoring chart for six straight years in a row.
The attacker couldn't just stop scoring and he ensured the FIFA World Cup also witnessed his incredible talent in front of goal, with 4 impressive efforts in 4 appearances which was enough to push Portugal into the knockout phase of the tournament in Russia - not to mention his brilliant 26 goals and 5 assists in 27 games during the La Liga campaign.
Memorable Mentions: Kylian Mbappe, Harry Kane, Sergio Ramos, Ivan Rakitic, Diego Godin, Kevin De Bruyne, Neymar Junior.
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