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What's the story?
Paris Saint-Germain forward Edinson Cavani has named his picks for the prestigious Ballon d'Or and explained why Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric is not on the list.
In case you didn't know...
France Football released their 30-man shortlist for the Ballon d'Or a month ago and since then, rumours of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo's absence from the top three have been rife.
The players in the list include Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Sergio Aguero, Alisson Becker, Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema, Edinson Cavani, Thibaut Courtois, Kevin De Bruyne, Roberto Firmino, Diego Godin, Antoine Griezmann, Eden Hazard, Isco, Harry Kane, N’Golo Kante, Hugo Lloris, Mario Mandzukic, Sadio Mane, Marcelo, Kylian Mbappe, Luka Modric, Neymar, Paul Pogba, Ivan Rakitic, Sergio Ramos, Mohamed Salah, Luis Suarez, Jan Oblak and Raphael Varane.
However, fans, players and experts are of the belief that another player is set to break the Messi-Ronaldo duopoly over the award this time around.
The top favourite for the award has been pegged to be Croatia and Los Blancos midfielder Luka Modric, who helped his club win a third consecutive Champions League and also led his country to a first-ever World Cup final.
The heart of the matter
Despite popular opinion, it appears Cavani doesn't think the award should go to the Croatian.
The PSG forward has revealed that he would like to see a Frenchman win the award instead.
Speaking in an interview with former France international Christophe Dugarry per AS, he said, "For me, a Frenchman should win it."
"There are other players, but it should be a Frenchman; they've won big things. It should be one of those three [Mbappe, Griezmann or Varane]."
Speaking of his Modric snub, Cavani said, "Modric? He had a great season, but Varane won the Champions League and the World Cup."
"Modric was a finalist [at Russia 2018] and had a great season, but Varane deserves it more."
What's next?
The winner of the coveted prize will be announced on December 3 in the French capital.
