Rumours are roaring around social media concerning the identity of the top-three contenders to win the coveted Ballon d’Or in two weeks time, and if the frenzied speculation is to be believed then there’s absolutely no sign of two of the biggest football stars on the planet.
No, we’re not talking about Chris Smalling and Phil Jones, but none other than Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, who appear to both be absent from the mini list of the top-three candidates for the first time since 2006.
The duo have traded Ballon d’Or triumphs in each of the last 10 years, bagging five apiece. In fact, you have to stretch your memories all the way back to 2007 for the last time either of the players didn’t claim the accolade – on that occasion Messi came 3rd, Ronaldo 2nd, and Kaka 1st.
But, it looks like their supreme dominance could now soon be coming to an end, for this year at least.
So, who on earth will grab the spotlight for the year 2018 when the winner is announced in early December?
The trio of Raphaël Varane, Luka Modric, and Antoine Griezmann – according to journalist Mootaz Chehade – will reportedly tussle it out for glory.
We’re sure the likes of Messi and Ronaldo, plus Kylian Mbappe and Mo Salah will be pretty peeved at supposedly missing out, with the voters consisting of national team captains and coaches, along with selected journalists.
Mbappe will be particularly annoyed given that he won the World Cup, along with the French domestic treble, consisting of Ligue 1, Coupe de France, and the Coupe de la Ligue – and to think, he’s not even 20 years old yet. Remarkable. Instead, Chehade tweeted that he’ll win the ‘Raymond Kopa award for the best U21 player in 2018’.
Fellow Frenchman Griezmann lifted the famous golden trophy alongside Varane in Russia, while the defender also got his mitts on the Champions League in a Real Madrid side that featured Modric.
The Croatia captain has enjoyed yet another stupendous year, winning the aforementioned European Cup for a fourth time in five years, before captaining Croatia through to their first major tournament final, which just so happened to be the World Cup.
It’s perhaps no surprise that the Croatian icon is the odds-on 2/5 favourite to scoop the Ballon d’Or, ahead of former teammate Ronaldo at 5/1, Griezmann (8/1), Varane (10/1), and Mbappe (12/1), whereas Messi is the 20/1 outsider.