Ronaldo and Messi have won the Ballon d'Or award for 10 years. Can Modric, Salah or Kane upstage them this year?
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have both been nominated for the Ballon d'Or 2018. However, for the first time in a decade they are not the favourites to win the Ballon d'Or trophy awarded by France Football magazine to the best player in the world.
The 2018 award will mark 10 years since Cristiano Ronaldo won the award in 2008, leading to an entire decade in which he and Messi dominated the trophy as both winners and runners-up. Both superstars now have five Ballons d'Or apiece.
However, it may be time for a new era where a new player finally usurps them to the biggest individual honour in football.
The award merged with FIFA's World Player of the Year prize from 2010-15 to create the FIFA Ballon d'Or, but returned to France Football in 2016 while FIFA established The Best awards.
The winners of the prestigious men's and women's awards will be announced at a ceremony in Paris on December 3.
The 30 nominees for the men's Ballon d'Or trophy awarded by France Football magazine to the best player in the world were announced recently.
Let's look at the nominees, favourites and underdogs for the Ballon d'Or 2018 and rank their chances of taking the trophy home.
1. Ballon d'or Nominees
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Other than the usual suspects of Ronaldo, Messi and Modric this year the list also includes stars like England's Harry Kane and Real Madrid's Welsh star Gareth Bale. Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero also features while Mo Salah is joined by his Liverpool mates Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino. Liverpool (and former AS Roma) goalkeeper Alisson is also there with Paul Pogba also included for his world cup show. Chelsea pair Eden Hazard and N’Golo Kante also feature on the 30-man list.
Here's the full list:
| Ballon d'Or (Men's nominees) Awards |
|---|
| Sergio Aguero (Manchester City, Argentina) |
| Alisson (Liverpool, Brazil) |
| Gareth Bale (Real Madrid, Wales) |
| Karim Benzema (Real Madrid, France) |
| Edinson Cavani (Paris Saint-Germain, Uruguay) |
| Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid, Belgium) |
| Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus, Portugal) |
| Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City, Belgium) |
| Roberto Firmino (Liverpool, Brazil) |
| Diego Godin (Atletico Madrid, Uruguay) |
| Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid, France) |
| Eden Hazard (Chelsea, Belgium) |
| Isco (Real Madrid, Spain) |
| Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur, England) |
| N'Golo Kante (Chelsea, France) |
| Hugo Lloris (Tottenham Hotspur, France) |
| Mario Mandzukic (Juventus, Croatia) |
| Sadio Mane (Liverpool, Senegal) |
| Marcelo (Real Madrid, Brazil) |
| Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain, France) |
| Lionel Messi (Barcelona, Argentina) |
| Luka Modric (Real Madrid, Croatia) |
| Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain, Brazil) |
| Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid, Slovenia) |
| Paul Pogba (Manchester United, France) |
| Ivan Rakitic (Barcelona, Croatia) |
| Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid, Spain) |
| Mohamed Salah (Liverpool, Egypt) |
| Luis Suarez (Barcelona, Uruguay) |
| Raphael Varane (Real Madrid, France) |
(Image: Reuters)
2. Raphael Varane
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Defenders usually get a raw deal in football and specially football awards. Raphael Varane, the Real Madrid and France star, is an example of that. Varane has won the Champions League and the FIFA World Cup this year. He was heavily nominated by his fellow players during The Best FIFA Awards. But will he buck the trend and win the Ballon d'Or? Seems unlikely. In fact, it seems so unlikely that most betting sites are not even giving odds on Varane. That's just one of the reasons that it would be so great to see Varane win the Ballon d'Or 2018.
Betting Odds: N/A
Our ranking: Ultimate Underdog
(Image: Reuters)
3. Kevin De Bruyne
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Kevin de Bruyne was argubly the best player in the Premier League last season. He was also a top performer for Belgium at the FIFA World Cup 2018 in Russia. While the second least favourite in betting odds right now (just ahead of Sergio Ramos!), he deserves a look.
Betting Odds: 33 (Sky Bet)
Our ranking: Underdog
(Image: Reuters)
4. Mo Salah
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Mohamed Salah was hot last year- he has had a great season for Liverpool and helped Egypt get into the FIFA World Cup 2018. However, his star has dimmed a little since then. He was injured in the Champions League final and failed to do much for Egypt in Russia. However, if the choice is only made on the basis of last season, he could be a contender. He is the sixth favourite of the bookies.
Betting Odds: 20 (Sky Bet)
Our ranking: Outside chance
(Image: Reuters)
5. Antoine Griezmann
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Antoine Griezmann has always been eclipsed by Messi and Ronaldo in La Liha. However, the forward has always performed for his side be it France or Atletico Madrid. He is tied with Messi in the latest betting odds.
Betting Odds: 16 (Sky Bet)
Our ranking: 5
(Image: Reuters)
6. Kylian Mbappe
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With odds at 10, Mbappe has made himself third favourite. The France and PSG star is being hailed as the best young players right now and he has justified that with his performances so far.
Betting Odds: 10 (Sky Bet)
Our ranking: 4
(Image: Reuters)
7. Lionel Messi
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Lionel Messi missed out the shortlist for The Best FIFA awards earlier. His exclusion created a lot of controversy but it seems the Argentina and Barcelona star are also going to miss out on Ballon d'Or also. He is joint-fourth in the Sky Bet odds with Antoine Griezmann.
Betting Odds: 16 (Sky Bet)
Our ranking: 3
(Image: Reuters)
8. Cristiano Ronaldo
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Cristiano Ronaldo has won the award for the past two years and five times in all, a record he shares with Messi. Ronaldo's nomination comes after the 33-year-old last week denied rape allegations levelled against him by a woman. According to Sky Bet, he is the second favourite to win the trophy.
Betting Odds: 5/4 (Sky Bet)
Our ranking: 2
(Image: Reuters)
9. Luka Modric
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Luka Modric is the favourite to win the award. The Croatia and Real Madrid star won the Golden Ball as the best player at this year's World Cup in Russia, where Croatia finished runners-up and last month claimed FIFA's The Best men's player award. He is the bookies' favourite too.
Betting Odds: 4/7 (Sky Bet)
Our ranking: No. 1 favourite
(Image: Reuters)
