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Both FIFA's The Best Award ceremony and Ballon d'Or has been cancelled. But FIFA have promised us that they're 'evaluating several other alternatives’ to reward the top players.
We have seen some incredible individual campaigns in the 2019-20 season and it would be unfair to not honour the cream of the crop as the world tries to cope with a pandemic. We could use some joy afterall.
We are in the midst of a very interesting transfer window and several players have increased their market value greatly after excelling this year in football. The Ronaldo-Messi duopoly seems to have run its course and we were almost certain to have a fresh face on top of the podium.
Let's take a look at the Power Rankings for the month of August.
#10 Raheem Sterling
Raheem Sterling has once again been one of Pep Guardiola's main weapons in attack. In a star studded team, it is always difficult to stand out. But the Englishman had an excellent campaign, outscoring both the strikers in his team- Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus.
Sterling scored 30 goals for Manchester City in the 2019-20 season from the flanks. He also has 4 assists to his name. The nimble footed winger loves to cut in from the left wing and run at defenders. Even if he might not make the podium as things stand, he is surely going to improve and get there in the near future.
Sterling had to content with winning just the Carabao Cup this term with City.
#9 Karim Benzema
Karim Benzema continues to deliver for Real Madrid at the highest level despite being 32-years-old. Benzema was at the forefront of Real Madrid's title-winning 2019-20 domestic league campaign.
While the new signings struggled to make an impact, Benzema scored 27 goals and assisted a further 10 from 47 appearances across all competitions. The Frenchman was at his clinical best this season once again and continues to be one of the best strikers in the world.
#8 Virgil Van Dijk
The world's best centre-back had yet another stellar season though he might not have reached the heights of his 2018-19 campaign. Van Dijk has been a colossus at the back of Liverpool as the Merseysiders ran away with the Premier League trophy in one of the most dominant domestic campaigns ever by an English side.
European glory eluded the Dutchman and the best defensive record in the English top flight and a league title is all he has to show for it. But Virgil Van Dijk's consistency has been paramount to Liverpool's becoming a force to reckon with in Europe.
#7 Kylian Mbappe
Kylian Mbappe is unlucky to have missed out on the UEFA Champions League title after guiding Paris Saint-Germain on a scintillating run to the finals of Europe's elitest competition despite missing out on a chunk of the season due to injury.
The Frenchman is still just 21-years-old and you have to agree that he has the world at his feet. Mbappe scored a whopping 30 goals and provided 10 assists across all competitions for the Ligue 1 champions despite the Ligue 1 being cut-short owing to the Corona virus pandemic.
#6 Thomas Muller
Thomas Muller is a phenomenon. After being demoted to the bench by Niko Kovac and seemingly walking into the twilight of his career, Muller turned everything around under Hans Flick and went onto break the record for most number of assists in a Bundesliga season.
The German was one of the leading forces behind Bayern's unstoppable run. Arguably one of the most intelligent football players in the planet, Thomas Muller racked up 26 assists and scored 14 goals across all competitions this season.
In addition to that, he won the continental treble with Bayern Munich and are now the kings of Europe.
#5 Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo is 35-years-old now but age seems to have given up trailing him. One of the greatest players of all time, the Juventus forward has been in prime goalscoring form and he was the Bianconeri's main man as they clinched a 9th consecutive Serie A title.
The Portuguese has been on fire once again and scored 37 goals and racked racked up 5 assists from 46 games across all competitions for The Old Lady. However, Juventus had a rather forgettable run after returning from the Covid break which eventually led to the sacking of Maurizio Sarri.
Ronaldo's goalscoring return continues to be elite and it'll be interesting to see for how much longer he can keep this up.
#4 Ciro Immobile
The winner of the European Golden Shoe, Ciro Immobile has been top quality for Lazio for years but it took him a record equalling 36 goal season to finally be counted as one of the best strikers right now.
The 30-year-old travelled across Italy and Dortmund before settling down at Lazio and he continues to serve them generously. In total, Immobile scored 39 goals and provided 4 assists from 43 appearances for Lazio this season.
However, a complete lack of silverware sees him lose out on a spot in the top 3.
#3 Lionel Messi
Barcelona endured a rare trophyless season but it was not due to a lack of trying from Lionel Messi. Messi has been driving this Barcelona jalopy almost entirely by himself, clocking ridiculous numbers when everyone else around him have had rather underwhelming campaigns.
Messi scored 31 goals and racked up 24 assists across all competitions for Barcelona and has been left distraught due to the way the management has been running the club and reportedly has one eye on the exit door.
How can you fault him? Those numbers are staggering and it is a pity that he has to try to schlepp an ageing side past the finish line all by himself.
#2 Kevin de Bruyne
Kevin de Bruyne is arguably the best midfielder in the world right now. Manchester City did not have a great season either, winning the lone Carabao Cup and finishing 18 points behind league winners Liverpool.
However, Kevin de Bruyne has been absolutely unstoppable and if Manchester City were more clinical in the Champions League knockout stage, they could have gone on to create history. They were in fact regarded as the tournament favourites after seeing off Real Madrid in the Round of 16 and KDB was the main reason behind it.
He scored 16 goals and assisted a further 22 from 46 appearances for Manchester City this term. Kevin De Bruyne's role in midfield cannot be reduced to just numbers. His tenacity and vision have been exemplary and creates big chances for his side at an astounding rate.
#1 Robert Lewandowski
There really is no question about this. Lewandowski has had an extraordinary season and has beaten his competition by a country mile. The Pole has been scoring goals like peak Lionel Messi.
He also won the continental treble with Bayern Munich this season and was simply too hot to handle throughout the campaign. Robert Lewandowski ended his 2019-20 campaign with 56 goals from 48 games in addition to 9 assists.
He scored 15 goals and provided 5 assists from 10 UEFA Champions League appearances this season and has been on a different level altogether. Too cruel that he has been robbed off a Ballon d'Or though.
