'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The Ballon d'Or is an award that most players crave for and we are perhaps just 2-3 months away from knowing who will win the Ballon d'Or. It is the most prestigious award that a footballer can get and is considered a much bigger award than the FIFA Best Player Award.
The FIFA Awards have been criticized heavily, for their decisions and this is the reason, fans wait for the Ballon d'Or winner to be announced. This is because their decision making has been batter than FIFA's.
Even in the recently concluded FIFA Awards' ceremony, there were a lot of horrific decisions made. Mo Salah winning the Puskas Award, Messi not even being nominated, Thibaut Courtois won the Best Goalkeeper Award but couldn't make it to the FIF Pro XI and Mo Salah was nominated for Best Player Award but couldn't make the FIF Pro XI.
The Ballon d'Or has been dominated by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo for the last 10 years and Ronaldo won it the last time around. However, it looks like their dominance over the Ballon d'Or might come to an end just like the Best Player Award.
Let's move on and have a look at the top 5 candidates for the Ballon d'Or.
#5 Kylian Mbappe
The French youngster has been in superb form over the last 12 months and many have touted him to take over from Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The teenager has been instrumental for PSG and played a key role in France's World Cup triumph. He won the Best Young Player award at the World Cup and was a part of the FIF Pro XI, as well.
He has exceptional speed and dribbling skills and is often praised as the fastest footballer, at present. He has been gifted with physical strength and his presence mind make him a dangerous player. He is brilliant with his finishing and can play as a winger or a centre-forward.
He has started the new season in a superb manner and has scored 5 times in 5 appearances. He has also assisted once, but the factor that could work against him is that he plays in Ligue 1, the weakest of the top 5 leagues in Europe and it is pretty easy to score in that. And because most of his goals and assists have come in Ligue 1, he may not win the award.
#4 Antoinne Griezmann
The Atletico Madrid star is having the time of his life and it looks like he has hit an all-time high in his career. He won the Europa League, UEFA Super Cup, World Cup and finished 2nd in the La Liga. He won the Bronze Ball and the Silver Boot at the World Cup and was France's most influential player in Russia.
He played a key role in Atleti's success, as well. He was unlucky to not win a single award at the FIFA Awards but it won't mean a lot to him since he won a lot of trophies with his teams. However, he has had a slow start to the new season and has only managed 2 goal and 3 assists from 9 appearances.
This poor start could hurt his chances of winning the prestigious Ballon d'Or.
#3 Lionel Messi
The Argentine great has won the Ballon d'Or on 5 occasions but has failed to win it in the last 2 years. He might have been on top of the rankings if, he had a better World Cup. Such is the competition for the Ballon d'Or, a few bad games can drag you down! He was wrongly excluded from the finalists for the FIFA Best Player Award and he will desperately want to win the Ballon d'Or.
The Barcelona captain has had a pretty good start to the new season with 8 goals and 5 assists from 9 appearances. He has been in fascinating form and looks like he is determined to do something special, this season. His form will be key to Barcelona's hopes of bringing home the Champions League.
#2 Cristiano Ronaldo
The former Real Madrid superstar completed a high profile transfer to Juventus this summer. Although he hasn't been at his goal scoring best, he has been brilliant with his assists. He has scored only 3 goals in 8 games but has assisted his teammates 5 times. He had a fantastic World Cup campaign with Portugal, having netted 4 goals.
The Portuguese captain is one of the all time greats and won the Ballon d'Or, the last time around. He has gotten the capability to win it for the 6th time but the question is, will he?
#1 Luka Modric
Luka Modric has been on an award-winning spree. He won the Golden Ball at the World Cup, the UEFA Player of the Year Award and the FIFA Best Men's Player Award. With all those awards in the bag, his next aim is to win the Ballon d'Or. 2018 has been the Croatian skipper's year and he deserves the award more than anybody else.
Although he doesn't have as many goals or assists as the others on the list, his influence on a game is immense. He controls the midfield and is always involved in the goals and is a key contributor in the defence. He doesn't score goals or assists but he is as valuable as anybody can be on the field. He has assisted twice for Real Madrid in 9 games, this season. He is perhaps, their most valuable asset after Gareth Bale.
At the moment, he is in pole position to win the Ballon d'Or and only God can stop him from winning. He could be the one to end the duopoly!
Send us news tips at [email protected]
