Following the cancellation of the most prestigious individual award last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, football's top names are in a race to win the Ballon d'Or.
The victor of France Football's annual award is determined on the basis of votes from football journalists, coaches, and team captains. Though it's too soon to predict because it's until the end of the year, the race is already heating up.
Therefore, we would like to reveal the top ten favorites for the 65th edition of the Ballon d'Or award.
#10 Federico Chiesa (Juventus)
Chiesa, 23, has had a fantastic year thus far. In his first season with Juventus, the winger shone down the flanks, scoring 14 goals and providing 10 assists in his 43 times appearing on the pitch. He kept up his excellent form in Euro 2020, guiding Italy to their second European title and first since 1968.
Chiesa was perhaps Italy's most scary forward, particularly after scoring in the last-16 win over Austria from the bench. On Twitter, Gerard Pique considered Chiesa as his tournament player of the year.
#9 Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund)
Like Kylian Mbappe, the 20-year-old has been one of the best players on the planet. He's a machine in the box, with 24 goals in only 27 performances so far in 2021. Despite Norway's nonappearance in Euro 2020, he's still capable of taking his game to the next level.
#8 Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus)
In 2021, he scored 27 goals and added four assists. He also lifted the Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana trophies.
Ronaldo may have beaten Patrik Schick to the Euro 2020 Golden Boot with a single assist, but that will not lessen the pain of Portugal's early departure.
#7 Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)
In 2021, Kevin De Bruyne had 10 goals and 10 assists. He also won both the Premier League and the Carabao Cup. Notwithstanding his establishing himself as the best yeasty midfielder on the planet, De Bruyne will not receive any more individual awards this year in addition to his PFA Player of the Year award.
#6 Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain)
By scoring a Champions League hat-trick against Barcelona in February, the 22-year-old established himself as a possible successor to Ronaldo and Messi. This is something that not many football players have done earlier.
However, Mbappe's chances of winning the Ballon d'Or were harmed after he didn't score any goal in any of France's four Euro 2020 matches, because the country was eliminated in the last 16.
#5 Romelu Lukaku (Inter)
With the Serie A MVP award, the former Manchester United striker has stifled his skeptics. He was outstanding all season, helping Inter Milan win their first Scudetto since 2010 and finishing second in the Capocannoniere race to Cristiano Ronaldo.
Lukaku maintained his strong form in Euro 2020, gaining four goals for Belgium and earning a spot in the UEFA Team of the Tournament.
#4 N'Golo Kante (Chelsea)
N'Golo Kante has created one assist and won the Champions League in 2021
Kante's Man-of-the-Match-winning performances in the Champions League's latter stages may be enough to preserve him a spot in the top three.
#3 Jorginho (Chelsea)
In 2021, he scored five goals and added two assists. Euro 2020 and the Champions League were both won by him and his teams.
If anyone asks whether Jorginho is the best player on Chelsea's Champions League-winning team and Italy's best player on the way to winning Euro 2020 , the answer is no.
Did he, however, play a significant role in both victories? Totally.
It's 'Modric's Law' in extreme, and while the Azzurri star may not be able to repeat the 2018 winner in asserting the final personal prize, he now has a realistic chance of becoming the winner.
#2 Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
In 2021, Lewandowski maintained his mind-blowing stats, scoring a Bundesliga-record 41 goals in only 29 games. Bayern Munich might have progressed further in the Champions League if the Pole had not been injured from March to April.
Poland fired up Euro 2020 in the group stages as expected. Despite this, Lewandowski performed admirably, scoring three goals in 3 matches. It will be fascinating in seeing how he performs next season under new Bayern Munich coach Julian Nagelsmann.
#1 Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
The first and foremost name on this list is without a doubt Lionel Messi. He has the best chance to be on top and win the award. In 2021, he had 33 goals and 14 assists so far, and super-long-awaiting trophies of the Copa America and the Copa del Rey.
Barcelona's strengthened form in the second half of last season was also aided by the 34-year-old. He was able to help Ronald Koeman's side win the Copa del Rey despite failing to make a real difference in the club's Champions League and Spanish Super Cup finals.
