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After a long summer break, a new season of footballing activity is almost upon us as clubs get set to resume hostilities for the next nine months.
Beyond matters on the field, it is also a period for handing out of individual accolades, as players get rewarded for their performances last season.
Prestigious awards like the UEFA and FIFA Best Player as well as the Ballon d'Or would be up for grabs in the next couple of months.
The Ballon d'Or has been handed out every year since 1956 and is widely considered by many to be the highest individual honor a player can achieve.
The awards were merged with the FIFA World Best Best Player in 2010 to become the FIFA Ballon d'Or and this was the status quo maintained for the next five years until it was returned to French football media outfit France Football in 2015.
The procedure for winning the award is pretty straightforward, as the first list of nominees is released by France Football, then a panel of select journalists, as well as national team coaches and captains vote for their preferred top three candidates, with five points awarded for every time a player is voted first, three for second and one point for every third-place vote.
The total points accrued by each player are then tallied and the winner would be announced at a gala.
Every year, the race for the Ballon d'Or is usually a keenly contested one and with numerous football competitions having taken place over the last one year, players had multiple opportunities to sake their claim.
The awards gala are usually held in December, and with just over five months to go, we shall be taking a look at the top five favorites For the 2019 Ballon d'Or.
#5 Bernardo Silva (Portugal/Manchester City)
Silva was one of the stars of the Monaco team that defied expectations in 2017 and earned a transfer to Manchester City worth £43m.
Owing to the abundance of talent in midfield at City, the Portuguese international was mostly used as a substitute in his debut season but made 35 appearances as the Cityzens conquered all before them to the League title.
Last season, an early long-term injury to Kevin de Bruyne offered Bernardo Silva an opportunity to excel and it was one he grabbed with both hands, starring as the creative force for Pep Guardiola, with Manchester City once again defending their league title and going one further by becoming the first club in English football history to win a domestic treble of league, FA Cup and League Cup.
In total, the 24-year-old scored 13 goals and created 14 assists in all competitions for Manchester City and for his efforts was nominated for the PFA Player of the Year, voted into the Team of the Season as well as named Manchester City Player of the Season.
On the international scene, he also starred, helping Portugal to win the first-ever UEFA Nations League and was named Player of the tournament as well as voted into the team of the competition.
It is for his performances for Manchester City and Portugal that Bernardo Silva finds himself in fifth place in the race for the 2019 Ballon d'Or.
For some ludicrous reason, FIFA did not deem it fit to name Bernardo Silva among its 10 nominees for the 2019 Best Men's Player, but hopefully, France Football would rectify this anomaly.
#4 Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal/Juventus)
Cristiano Ronaldo is the record winner of this award, having won it a joint five times with arch rival Lionel Messi.
The Portuguese record goalscorer embarked on a new chapter in his illustrious career with Juventus after nine stellar seasons with Real Madrid and despite starting the season slowly in Turin, he still ended his debut campaign decently.
Ronaldo ended the 2018/2019 season with 28 goals and 10 assists from 43 matches in all competitions last term and while those might be poor returns considering his otherworldly standards, it is still fair enough to see him installed as the fourth favorite for the 2019 Ballon d'Or.
Though he ended the season with 'just' the Serie A and Super Coppa Italia to show, the 34-year-old's claim to the prize was boosted massively boosted when he captained his nation to glory in the Nations League on home soil.
Portugal getting there had a lot to do with Ronaldo, as despite not playing a part in the group stage, the Madeira native returned with a bang in the semifinal against Switzerland, scoring a hat-trick to fire his nation to the final.
Having seen his stronghold of the Ballon d'Or broken by Luka Modric last year, Ronaldo would be keen to get his hands back on his beloved prize and an explosive start to next season could see his chances increased.
#3 Alisson (Brazil/Liverpool)
Alisson Becker would be seeking to become only the second goalkeeper to claim this prize after the legendary Lev Yashin did so in 1963.
The 26-year-old was made the world's most expensive goalkeeper when he signed for Liverpool from Roma for £66m (a record since broken by Kepa) and the Brazilian international has gone on to prove to be worth every penny spent to get him.
He starred in all 38 Premier League matches for Liverpool, keeping 21 clean sheets to win the Golden Glove and also set a club record by going 20 matches unbeaten consecutively in the Premier League.
The Novo Hamburgo native was also extremely important to Liverpool's Champions League triumph, as he made a number of critical saves and kept six clean sheets along the way to help The Reds to their first trophy under the charismatic Jurgen Klopp.
It did not end there for Alisson however, as he was also instrumental in Brazil's Copa America triumph on home soil, conceding just one goal from six matches and making a crucial stop in the penalty shootout victory over Paraguay in the quarterfinal.
In total, Alisson kept an unbelievable 32 clean sheets from 55 competitive matches in all competitions and won the Golden Glove in all three competitions he partook in last season (he was rested in the FA and League Cup) and it is for his exceptional displays between the sticks for Liverpool and Brazil in the last one year that Alisson is the third favorite for the 2019 Ballon d'Or.
#2 Lionel Messi (Argentina/Barcelona)
Lionel Messi became the first player to win four Ballon d'Ors - doing so in consecutive years between 2009 and 2012.
However, since then he has won just one and none since 2015 and given his immense talent and ability, this is simply not good enough.
Indeed, last year saw Messi miss out on the top three in the Ballon d'Or for the first time in 12 years and that snub must have rekindled a fire in him.
His start to last season suggested that he was out to silence his doubters, as he led Barcelona's charge on all fronts for a treble, but the Catalans frittering end to the campaign put paid to those plans.
If the Blaugrana's capitulating losses to Liverpool and Valencia damaged Messi's chances, then his no-show and subsequent petulance and tirade at the recently concluded Copa America was the proverbial nail in the coffin.
However, Messi still ended last season with 51 goals and 22 assists in all competitions and won the European and Champions League Golden Boots.
These are not numbers you see every day and despite failing to inspire both Barcelona and Argentina to their sought after trophies, Lionel Messi is still firmly in the running to win a record-breaking sixth Ballon d'Or.
#1 Virgil van Dijk (Netherlands/Liverpool)
It is amazing the difference that 18 months and the arrival of one man can do to the fortunes of a football club.
By this time two years ago, Liverpool had won plenty of admirers for their brilliant style of play, but many also expressed reservations about The Reds becoming genuine title contenders owing to their shaky defense.
Loose passes, goalkeeper gaffes, miscommunication between defenders, slack marking but to name few; these were all hallmarks of Liverpool's defense, as their backline failed to inspire any sort of confidence whatsoever, with the result being that their results more often than not resembled cricket score lines.
The Merseysiders couldn't buy a clean sheet if their life depended on it and moving forward, Jurgen Klopp knew this was an issue to address.
It was why he sanctioned the purchase of Virgil van Dijk for the record-breaking sum of £75m in January 2018 and despite initial snickers about the Dutchman being too expensive, no one would be complaining now.
After starring in his first half-season with the club, the 27-year-old exploded to life last season, serving as the lynchpin of a side that conceded just 21 goals all season to post the best defensive record in the league.
Van Dijk was only behind Jorginho for most passes in the league with 3,037, while he also attempted 38 tackles with a 74% success ratio and made 40 interceptions.
Furthermore, of the 322 duels he contested, he came out successful in 244, while he also had 199 clearances and made 193 recoveries.
His efforts in Liverpool's record-breaking campaign saw him named PFA Player of the Year, and he also starred by captaining the Netherlands to the final of the Nations League.
Van Dijk inspired both Liverpool and Netherlands with his positioning, awareness and excellent reading of the game, and for these, he is firmly positioned to become only to fourth defender and fist since Cannavaro in 2006 to win the Ballon d'Or.
