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The race for this year's Ballon d'Or is heating up. The award presented by French news magazine France Football, is widely regarded as the most prestigious individual prize in football. Unlike previous years where we've had clear-cut favourites, there is no predicting who is going to win it this year.
The Ballon d'Or winner is chosen on the basis of a combination of votes from journalists, national team captains and coaches.
The Ballon d'Or 30-man shortlist was released in early October
France Football narrowed down the list of contenders for this year's Ballon d'Or by releasing a 30-man shortlist on the 8th of October. The usual suspects are all present and there is very little to differentiate the best players in the world this time around.
We've had almost a year and a half of non-stop footballing action following the Covid-19 break in 2020. A lot has happened in that time and come November 29th, all our guesswork and predictions will be put to the test when this year's Ballon d'Or winner is finally named.
Without further ado, let's take a look at the Ballon d'Or Power Rankings for the month of October.
#10 Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium/Manchester City)
Kevin De Bruyne would have been one of the frontrunners for this year's Ballon d'Or had Manchester City gone on to beat Chelsea in the Champions League final. Unfortunately for him, he was forced off injured early in the second half of the game as City fell to a 1-0 loss against Chelsea.
De Bruyne has been phenomenal for Manchester City in recent seasons and he was in fine form in the 2020-21 season as well. The 30-year-old won the PFA Player of the Year Award this year to make it two in a row. He scored 10 goals and provided 18 assists in 40 appearances for Manchester City last term.
He was also influential for Belgium at Euro 2016, scoring a goal and providing three assists in four appearances at the tournament. De Bruyne won the Premier League and the Carabao Cup with Manchester City last term.
#9 Erling Haaland (Norway/Borussia Dortmund)
Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland is presently regarded as the next big thing in football. Don't get us wrong, he is already a superstar at the age of 21 but given how exceptional a goalscorer he already is, the sky is the limit for the Norwegian international.
Haaland has been stacking up incredible numbers ever since breaking into the professional circuit. In the 2020-21 season, Haaland scored 41 goals and provided 12 assists in 41 appearances across all competitions. He won the DFB Pokal with Dortmund last term.
Haaland has got off to a flying start in the new season and has 13 goals and four assists to his name in just 10 appearances.
#8 Kylian Mbappe (France/Paris Saint-Germain)
Kylian Mbappe would have found himself higher up the list had he not been uncharacteristically off colour at Euro 2020. Mbappe had just one assist to his name in four appearances in the continental competition as France crashed out in the Round of 16 against Switzerland.
However, he did have a wonderful 2020-21 campaign where he scored 42 goals and provided 11 assists in 47 appearances across all competitions for Paris Saint-Germain. The 22-year-old also won the Coupe de France & Trophee des Champions.
Mbappe scored a hat-trick and a brace against Barcelona and Bayern Munich respectively in the Champions League last term. However, PSG's exit in the semi-final after being considered favourites to go on and win the competition has greatly hampered the Frenchman's chances in the Ballon d'Or race.
#7 Mohamed Salah (Egypt/Liverpool)
Mohamed Salah has worked his way back into the Ballon d'Or conversation after a sensational start to the 2021-22 season. The Egyptian international has been in sublime form in the new season and has scored 12 goals and provided four assists in 11 appearances already this term.
Salah had a pretty good 2020-21 campaign at an individual level, scoring 31 goals and providing six assists in 51 appearances across all competitions. However, Liverpool struggled last season due to injuries and they failed to win any major trophies.
So even though the 29-year-old has solid numbers, he is unlikely to finish close to the podium in this year's Ballon d'Or race.
#6 Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal/Manchester United)
Cristiano Ronaldo is yet another player whose lack of major trophies this year will severely affect his chances of winning the Ballon d'Or. The Portuguese international finished the 2020-21 Serie A season as the top scorer with 29 goals in 33 appearances.
He also won the Golden Boot at Euro 2020 despite Portugal crashing out of the tournament in the Round of 16 against Belgium. Ronaldo scored five goals and provided an assist in four appearances at the tournament.
However, the Coppa Italia is the only major trophy that he was able to win this year and it is unlikely to do much for him in the Ballon d'Or race this term.
#5 N'Golo Kante (France/Chelsea)
N'Golo Kante's involvement has been rather limited in the past two seasons due to some injury problems. He was unfortunate to have missed out on France's UEFA Nations League semi-final and final wins after being sidelined due to injury.
But when he has been fully fit, the Frenchman has been phenomenal. He was the standout performer for Chelsea in the knockout stages of their triumphant UEFA Champions League campaign, picking up four man-of-the-match awards.
Kante's tenacity, defensive acumen and incredible link-up play were crucial to Chelsea's resurgence in the second half of the 2020-21 season. The 30-year-old was also named the UEFA Champions League Midfielder of the Year.
#4 Jorginho (Italy/Chelsea)
Italy and Chelsea midfielder Jorginho has been backed to go on and win the Ballon d'Or by many this year. Why wouldn't he be? He won the UEFA Champions League, Euro 2020 and the UEFA Super Cup all in the same summer.
Jorginho has been a vital player for both club and country but the jury is still out on how much his individual brilliance helped fashion those triumphs. The 29-year-old, who was named the UEFA Player of the Year, has been incredible in defensive midfield for both Italy and Chelsea.
Not only is he a wonderful technician who is great at distributing the ball but he is also adept at dispensing his defensive duties. Jorginho is also one of the best penalty takers in the game right now and finished the 2020-21 Premier League season as Chelsea's top scorer with seven goals.
#3 Karim Benzema (France/Real Madrid)
Karim Benzema has absolutely turned it on in the new season. The Frenchman is inarguably one of the most well-rounded attackers of his generation and has provided ample evidence of what he is capable of this year.
Benzema was the top scorer for Real Madrid in the league in the 2020-21 season but they finished second in the La Liga title race that went down to the very last day. The 33-year-old then earned a call-up to the French international side for Euro 2020 after a gap of six years.
He justified it by scoring four goals in four appearances in the continental competition. Benzema would then score crucial goals for France in the semi-final and final of the UEFA Nations League.
Having added the Nations League title to his kitty, Benzema has greatly improved his credentials in the Ballon d'Or race this time. He has also been in sensational form in the new season, scoring 11 goals and providing eight assists in just 11 appearances across all competitions so far.
#2 Robert Lewandowski (Poland/Bayern Munich)
Robert Lewandowski was the favourite to win the Ballon d'Or in 2020. Unfortunately for him, the award was cancelled in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Polish international is currently the most prolific goalscorer on the planet and has been in stellar form for several seasons now.
The 33-year-old scored 48 goals and provided nine assists in 40 appearances across all competitions in the 2020-21 season for Bayern Munich. He scored 41 of those goals in 29 Bundesliga appearances. In doing so, he broke Gerd Muller's record for most goals scored in a single Bundesliga campaign.
Lewandowski won the league title with Bayern Munich but had a rather disappointing outing at Euro 2020. He scored three goals in three appearances as Poland crashed out in the group stages of the tournament.
Lewandowski has been in great form this new season as well, scoring 16 goals and providing an assist in 12 appearances across all competitions so far.
#1 Lionel Messi (Argentina/Paris Saint-Germain)
Lionel Messi finally ended his trophy drought on the international front by winning the Copa America with Argentina this summer. He was named the Best Player of the tournament and won the Golden Boot as well, scoring four goals and providing five assists in seven appearances.
Messi was sensational for Barcelona in the second half of the 2020-21 season and almost single-handedly pulled them back into the La Liga title race. It didn't amount to much in the end but the 34-year-old won the Pichichi trophy for being the top scorer in the Spanish top-flight with 30 goals in 35 appearances.
In the 2020-21 season, Messi scored a total of 38 goals and provided 14 assists in 47 appearances across all competitions. He was also a standout player for the Catalans as they won the Copa Del Rey last term. Messi is tipped to go on to win a record seventh Ballon d'Or this time around.
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