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The next Ballon d'Or winner won't be named until December of this year, however, we are already getting a good idea of the players that will be contending for the award. During the first two months of 2019, a number of global stars have already started to make an early claim for the award, and Luka Modric's reign will likely come to an end.
Modric is the current holder of football's most prestigious individual accolade having brought an end to the Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo duopoly of the last decade, although the Croatian has failed to replicate his 2018 form throughout the early part of the year. Due to this, the Ballon d'Or is likely to change hands once again, and here are three individuals that are making strong cases to replace Modric as footballs best player.
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#3 Kylian Mbappé - Paris Saint-Germain
There is no doubting that Kylian Mbappe will one day take home footballs biggest award, and the young Frenchman is already among the leading contenders for the 2019 award. In the first few months of 2019, Mbappe has passed 50 career Ligue 1 goals, and due to the absence of Neymar, he has also become PSG's main man.
The 20-year-old is currently topping the Ligue 1 scoring charts, averaging a goal every 72 minutes, and Mbappe also netted a crucial goal during PSG's Last 16 Champions League game against Manchester United. If Mbappe continues to score at his current rate, he should get past 100 career goals by the end of the year, and there is no doubting that the mercurial Frenchman will be a leading contender for the Ballon' d'Or trophy.
#2 Antoine Griezmann
Antoine Griezmann has long been touted as a player who could win the Ballon d'Or, and the Frenchman finished third in last years voting, collecting a career-high 414 votes. At 27, Griezmann is entering the peak years of his career, and due to the emergence of Kylian Mbappe, Griezmann may feel as though he only has a short window of opportunity to win the annual award.
In light of this, Griezmann has started the year well, striking seven times in La Liga while also cementing his status as one of the best creative forwards in world football. Atletico Madrid are also on the verge of dumping Cristiano Ronaldo and Juventus out of the Champions League and come December, Atletico's European success could be a major factor in Griezmann realizing his dream of winning the Ballon d'Or.
#1 Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi has won the Ballon d'Or on five occasions, although his last triumph came back in 2015. Since his last win, Messi has finished runner up twice, although the Barcelona forward last year slipped outside of the top three for the first time since 2007.
Messi has responded by starting 2019 in excellent form, only failing to score in three La Liga games since the turn of the year, hitting 12 league goals in the process. In addition to this, the Maestro further demonstrated his greatness with a stunning hat-trick against Sevilla, which took his tally of career trebles to 50.
Despite quickly approaching his 32nd birthday, there is also no doubting that Messi has been able to regain his crown as the best player in Spain following Cristiano Ronaldo's move to Juventus, and after a four-year wait, Messi currently looks to be the clear favourite to take home a record-breaking sixth trophy.
