Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have shared football’s most iconic individual prize between them for the past 10 years but this could be the year that the Ballon d’Or duopoly is ended.
Luka Modric is the bookmakers’ favourite to claim France Football’s prize, currently held by Ronaldo, after his sparkling form at this summer’s World Cup and there appears to be a growing momentum for a third party to claim the prize.
The star names of France’s triumph in Russia are also likely to be among the top contenders, most notably Antoine Griezmann, Raphael Varane and Kylian Mbappe.
The winner will be announced in Paris on December 3 – here’s Standard Sport’s guide to all you need to know…
When is the Ballon d'Or?
The 63rd edition Ballon d'Or will be held in the French capital on Monday, December 3.
Tottenham and France great David Ginola will host the ceremony. Also revealed will be the Women’s Ballon d’Or, for which England duo Lucy Bronze and Fran Kirby are nominated, and the Kopa Trophy for the best player under 21.
Ballon d'Or shortlist
Sergio Aguero (Man City)
Gareth Bale (Real Madrid)
Alisson Becker (Liverpool)
Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)
Edinson Cavani (PSG)
Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus)
Kevin De Bruyne (Man City)
Roberto Firmino (Liverpool)
Diego Godin (Atletico Madrid)
Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid)
Eden Hazard (Chelsea)
Isco (Real Madrid)
Harry Kane (Tottenham)
N'Golo Kante (Chelsea)
Hugo Lloris (Tottenham)
Mario Mandzukic (Juventus)
Sadio Mane (Liverpool)
Marcelo (Real Madrid)
Kylian Mbappe (PSG)
Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Luka Modric (Real Madrid)
Neymar (PSG)
Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid)
Paul Pogba (Manchester United)
Ivan Rakitic (Barcelona)
Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid)
Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
Luis Suarez (Barcelona)
Raphael Varane (Real Madrid)
How to follow the Ballon d'Or
Currently there is no UK television broadcaster confirmed but Standard Sport will bring you live coverage of the event on the night.
Who are the Ballon d’Or favourites?
Real Madrid and Croatia midfielder Modric is the favourite with bookmakers having already won the Fifa Best prize in September. French trio of Griezmann, Varane and Mbappe are next in Betfair’s rankings ahead of Ronaldo and Messi.
Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah and Chelsea’s Eden Hazard are rated the most likely contenders from the Premier League but both are considered outsiders.
What is the Ballon d’Or and how does it differ from the Fifa Best Awards?
The Ballon d’Or was first conceived by France Football writer Gabriel Hanot in 1956 but prior to 1995 the award, voted for by football journalists, was confined to Europe. Liberia striker George Weah won in his first year of eligibility but is currently the only player from outside Europe or South America to win the prize.
Between 1991 and 2010 Fifa had its own World Player of the Year prize but for the five subsequent years the governing body and France Football jointly awarded the Ballon d’Or.
This partnership ended in 2016, after which Fifa began a ceremony named The Best Football Awards.
Past Ballon d’Or winners
Ronaldo and Messi share the record for most Ballon d’Or wins with five and each have the same number of second-placed finishes. The Barcelona forward has one third-place to his name.
Michel Platini, Johan Cruyff and Marco van Basten have all won the prize three times whilst Kevin Keegan is the only English player to have won it more than once, taking the crown in 1978 and 1979.
Barcelona have the most Ballon d’Or wins to their name at 11, one more than Real Madrid. Juventus and AC Milan players have won the prize eight times.
Manchester United (Denis Law, Bobby Charlton, George Best, Cristiano Ronaldo), Liverpool (Michael Owen) and Blackpool (inaugural winner Stanley Matthews) are the only English clubs who have fielded Ballon d’Or winners.
