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Four of Europe's top five leagues have come to an end with the champions of Spain, Italy, France, and England all decided. Barcelona, Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City have come out on top in their respective leagues after season-long battles but none of them will lift the coveted Champions League trophy.
In a season full of stand-out performances, the race for football's highest individual honour will undoubtedly come down to the wire and with most domestic leagues now over, the Champions League will play a decisive role in the voting process.
For the better part of the decade, European success has been a key decider in the Ballon d'Or awards. In the last six years, all winners of the coveted prize have won the European competition that season. Real Madrid's Luka Modric carried this routine through when he won the Ballon d'Or for his contribution to Los Blancos' European glory and Croatia's FIFA World Cup journey last year.
Here, we take a look at the current favourites to win the Ballon d'Or in the run-up to the Champions League final:
#5 Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus)
Cristiano Ronaldo's chances of winning a sixth Ballon d'Or are very slim despite his quick adaptation to the Serie A this season.
While the 34-year-old has helped the Old Lady to an eighth successive Serie A title, he failed to inspire his side to the Champions League title, a feat that he was particularly brought to Turin for. Juventus crashed out of the European competition after a surprising defeat to Dutch giants Ajax in the quarter-finals.
Individually, the former Real Madrid has had a decent enough season in a new league, having netted 28 goals for the Bianconeri in all competitions.
The Portuguese talisman remains on this list keeping in mind his consistency and his contribution to his team in Italy and Europe, but his failure to inspire Juventus beyond the quarter-finals of the Champions League drops him down a couple of spots.
For the first time in years, Ronaldo could even end up outside of the podium this year.
#4 Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain)
Like Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappe has had an excellent domestic season but failed to inspire his side in the Champions League.
Since his move from Monaco, the 20-year-old has gone from strength to strength, proving himself worthy of succeeding the likes of Messi and Ronaldo when they hang up their boots.
The French prodigy has netted 30 goals and tallied seven assists in the Ligue 1 this season, and sits at second place in the European goal-scoring charts.
He has played a pivotal role in PSG's inevitable Ligue 1 win, which is the only title the club has won this season. The French champions not only lost the Cup finals to Rennes but also crashed out of the Champions League after a shock defeat to an under-crisis Manchester United.
PSG shockingly squandered their two-goal lead against the Red Devils at home in the Round of 16, with Mbappe having missed a number of key chances that could have ended the second leg in their favour.
Despite having won the inaugural Kopa trophy last year, Mbappe is unlikely to win the Ballon d'Or this time around. His goal-scoring exploits which saw him net 36 goals and register 17 assists in all competitions, however, puts him fourth on this list.
#3 Sadio Mane (Liverpool)
Liverpool star Sadio Mane finished the season as one of the three winners of the Premier League Golden Boot, sharing the coveted prize with teammate Mohamed Salah and Arsenal frontman Pierre Emerick Aubameyang, with 22 league goals each.
Despite a slow start to the season, Mane turned up in the second half of the campaign scoring 11 goals in 11 games to make up for his initial deficits.
Overall, the Senegalese forward has 26 goals in all competitions for the Reds this season, with most of his efforts coming from open play.
This season marks the 27-year-old's best goal-scoring season, which will surely play a role in the voting process for the Ballon d'Or.
While the Reds may have missed out on the Premier League title by a single point, they are preparing for their second consecutive Champions League final as they hope to bring home their first major trophy in years.
#2 Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Barcelona captain Lionel Messi started out as the overwhelming favourite to win a record sixth Ballon d'Or. The mercurial Argentine leads the European goal-scoring charts with 34 goals and is the likeliest player to win the Golden Shoe, ahead of second-placed Kylian Mbappe.
In all competitions, the 31-year-old boasts of having scored a staggering 48 goals, despite having picked up an injury early this year.
Messi's goal-scoring exploits this season helped the Catalan giants to a second consecutive La Liga title, which initially looked like the first step towards a fantastic treble, considering the Copa del Rey final and Champions League semi-final that the team had secured weeks ago.
A Champions League disaster last week, however, has put all plans to complete a treble to a stand-still while also handing a significant blow to Messi's Ballon d'Or chances.
Barcelona squandered a three-goal lead against Liverpool in the second leg of their semi-final fixture at Anfield to give the Reds yet another opportunity at European glory.
Had the Argentine inspired his side to the Champions League finals, he would have remained the favourite to win the Ballon d'Or.
#1 Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Liverpool star Virgil van Dijk has emerged as the most impressive signing of the season and is the overwhelming Premier League favourite to win the Ballon d'Or.
The Dutchman has established himself as one of the best centre-backs in the world and has been the commanding presence holding the Liverpool defence together all season.
Together with Golden Glove winner Alisson Becker, Van Dijk has been pivotal in maintaining Liverpool's impressive defensive record which only saw them concede 20 goals in the Premier League all season.
Van Dijk's stature, aerial ability, leadership and passing accuracy has helped him to the PFA Player of the Year award this season, making him the first defender to receive the accolade since John Terry in 2005.
Should Liverpool win the Champions League title at Madrid, the 27-year-old could be on his way to winning yet another highly-coveted individual award.
