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Ahead of the Ballon d'Or 2021 ceremony, Chelsea legend Didier Drogba has named his three favourites for the prestigious award.
Speaking to Canal+, Droga named Kylian Mbappe, Robert Lewandowski and Mohamed Salah as his picks for the Ballon d'Or 2021 honour. The former Chelsea and Ivory Coast striker will also be hosting the Ballon d'Or ceremony later this evening.
Interestingly, Drogba has left out Lionel Messi when he named his favourites to win the Ballon d'Or award this year. That's noteworthy, as multiple reports have suggested that the Argentine has already won it. However, the three players chosen by Drogba have also had fabulous years on the pitch.
Robert Lewandowski, one of strong contenders for the prestigious award, broke the late Gerd Muller's record (40) for most goals in a Bundesliga season. He netted 41 times last campaign, and has 25 goals in 20 games across competitions already this season.
Meanwhile, Kylian Mbappe has had a great year for both club and country, scoring 45 times for club and country. He scored 42 goals and made 11 assists for PSG across competitions last season. However, the Parisians failed to win the Ligue 1 title. Mbappe did star in France's triumphant UEFA Nations League campaign, though.
Mohamed Salah is having the season of his life for Liverpool. Salah (22) narrowly missed out on the Premier League Golden Boot last season to Harry Kane (23). However, he currently leads the scoring charts with 11 goals. He has 24 goal contributions in 18 games for Liverpool across competitions this campaign.
However, a lack of trophies for Salah could be detrimental to his chances of winning his maiden Ballon d'Or award. Meanwhile, Mbappe didn't win the league title this year, while Lewandowski's silverware during the year came with Bayern Munich.
Who will win the Ballon d'Or 2021 award?
The Ballon d'Or 2021 ceremony is just a few hours away. This could be one of the most open races for the prestigious award in years. Experts and fans have vouched for multiple candidates.
Lionel Messi and Robert Lewandowski are amongst the strongest contenders to win the Ballon d'Or 2021 award, though. Kylian Mbappe, Mohamed Salah and Jorginho are some of the other names who are in the fray too.
If Messi wins, it will be a record-extending seventh Ballon d'Or award. Meanwhile, Lewandowski will want to recover from last year's disappointment.
The Ballon d'Or 2020 ceremony had to be cancelled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Robert Lewandowski was the clear favourite for the award. To his credit, he has put together another fabulous year, though.
The football world is curious to know who wins the award this year. Who do you think will take home this year's Ballon d'Or award?
