Rumour: L'Equipe's official Ballon d'Or video appears to confirm the top 3 nominees 

Following France Football's release of their thirty-man shortlist for the prestigious Ballon d'Or award, the argument around any football fan's table would be: will Ronaldo or Messi win it a record sixth time? Or will someone finally emerge to break their duopoly over the award?

The list of nominees was revealed to 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, in a surprising turn of events earlier this month, five-time Ballon d'Or winners Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have been left out of the top three for the award during the halfway mark in voting.

According to Eric Mamruth, a journalist for RFI, the top three spots have been filled by Luka Modric, Raphael Varane and World Cup star Kylian Mbappe.

EXCLUSIF #BallondOr : Après dépouillement de la moitié des votes, le trio de tête est le suivant: 1) Modric 2) @raphaelvarane 3) @KMbappe . Info @xbarretfoot @RFIRadioFoot @RFIsports

— Eric Mamruth (@MamruthRFI) November 9, 2018

Now, a video released by L'Equipe appears to confirm the rumours surrounding the potential absence of Messi and Ronaldo in the top three.

The French publication has posted a 30-second a montage ahead of the Balon d'Or ceremony on December 3.

The video appears to show three nominees prominently- Kylian Mbappe, Raphael Varane and Luka Modric, after which players such as Mo Salah, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Neymar, N'Golo Kanté, Paul Pogba, Antoine Griezmann and Eden Hazard are shown.

Fans now believe that the opening of the video and its inclusion of three players confirm the rumours that Luka Modric, Rafael Varane and Kylian Mbape are indeed the top three nominees for the award.

According to the #Equipe the 3 final players for the Ballon d'or are: #Mbappe, #Varane, #Modric.@AntoGriezmann absence is really a shame, considering that he totally deserves the win.

— LKorp (@LK0rp) November 19, 2018

Wait Mbappe Modric and Varane top 3 Ballon D’Or candidates? pic.twitter.com/RZlYuH34BE

— Naj 👑 (@JustPaulPogba) November 19, 2018

How the fuck is Modric, Varane and Mbappe up for the Balon D’Or. None of them had individually better seasons than Messi, Ronaldo, Salah or De Bruyne. Mbappe scores 13 league goals for fuck sake.

— — (@silkyilkay) November 19, 2018

Raphael Varane, Luka Modric and Kylian Mbappé will reportedly be in the top 3 of the 2018 Ballon d’Or. We all know no one of them is the best player in the world, but that’s the influence the World Cup has in this sport...

— GK16 (@GolazoLeo) November 19, 2018

Whether or not the rumours surrounding the supposed top three - Modric, Varane, Mbappe - are true or not remains to be seen.

The winner of the coveted prize is set to be announced on December 3 in Paris. While we wait for the results to be announced, you can revisit some of the best goals scored by one of the rumoured top 3 nominees - Kylian Mbappe - in the video below

Video: Mbappe's top 5 goals for PSG