And so the rumours begin as to who will win the next Ballon d'Or, and with the voting already closed, the three standout candidates are all Madrid based; Antoine Griezmann, Raphael Varane and Luka Modric.
The winner will be announced at the gala in Paris on December 3, but before then there will be all kinds of speculation.
However, it is true that all the information coming from France Football points to the fact that the winner could be in Madrid.
Either a player from the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu or the Estadio Wanda Metropolitano would therefore seem to be the lucky one.
Since the voting closed last Friday, Radio Europe 1 said that Modric will be crowned the winner ahead of Varane and Mbappe, leaving Griezmann off of the podium as happened at FIFA's 'The Best.'
However, in France on Tuesday, it was noted that France Football's envoys will arrive in Madrid shortly...
The fact that there is no clear favourite among the three would give Modric more options.
In France, if they opt for one of the three, it would be Varane, who was already the most voted for by the French 'jury' for The Best prize; formed by Deschamps, Lloris and the journalist chosen for the award.
Since the end of the World Cup, personalities such as Platini, Laurent Blanc or the president of the French Federation Noe Le Graet have opted for Varane because they believe that he sums up team spirit better than anyone else and because he also closed the season with the best track record in the history of French football.
Except for a great surprise, what seems clear is that the Ballon d'Or will no longer be dominated by Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
The time has come for a new name to be inscribed.
Wiaeknu
313
see u
SkipoNo1
281
I really think no matter who wins it, Messi and Cristiano should be given recognitions on that day as honour for their impacts for dominating the AWARD for 10 years... What do we think? They are the Greatests.
chekwasi
256
Just give it to him, he is too good to have it. when u see him, u see respect, icon, legend, humility, great captain/true leader and amongst all, Croatian national ambassador. Luka Modric
Zihamorys
246
Ballon d'or belongs to this two lions
lionraj10
199
Raphael varane should be the winner,he won everything
Divyansh26
193
This Guy Deserves the Balloon d'Or for sure he has done see phenomenal performances for his club And His country too and the display against Spain was just a showcase of his well known talent ....... A G.O.A.T. who probably has the talent to turn the tables on himself only....... Come on CR7 ......... A six Balloon d'Or ......GO GO CHAMP.....
4sanji4
186
this is not a individual award anymore..if one wc make thus much difference...mbappe is far better than grezemann even if we count wc well as league 1 cup ...how on earth is possible messi not in the list ...coz they don't win trophy...top scorers of europe??? why ronaldo not in the list becoz he move to juventus....why salah not on the list ???...Varane seriously I think even Cardiff def concede less than real...what make defender best ...tackles or clean sheet??? play 10 15 good game n u r best player in the world whether your team conceded 16 goals just in 12 games ..3 goals aganist team like Argentina...ballon d or is just a politics now...nothing more..
bauabmy
183
at last it has ended. we will see best performance from every player knowing that their efforts will be recognized. Is not all about goal scoring. Ribbery Iniesta and Neuer have suffered defeat bcos they didn't score goals. We talk of exceptional performance with consistency within the year . good moments are coming back. u can defend well and win .
Youraz
176
I think it is bizarre. I don't care about mess Ronaldo they don't need to win one anyway. But no salah? an maybe mapped should come in for griezmann.
Mcjoan
176
it doesn't matter who wins it, these FIFA awards are becoming a joke and am not ready to indulge myself in promoting jokes, we all know who should win it, 1. CR7, you know what he did with Real Madrid, you all saw the world cup and about all the numbers speak for themselves 2. messi, he might have not gone far in the world cup but he stood out for Barcelona, I'll also say numbers can speak 3. Mbappe, this young boy is doing the unthinkable, unlike griezmann, Mbappe carried France with goals, he has stood out at psg all the others should come after, World Cup is not the only tournament that took place in 2018-2019
flash888
167
Lmao, BdO without CR and Messi, loses any sort of credibility it had left.
tisilpt
164
fellow friends, no one should deceive us, and to also try to hype any thing here. the rules still stand as to how they choose world best, all these players are still playing and active as now, so back to team performance Real Madrid is of what position now and come to Atletico Madrid now where are they on the table now. both modric and the France national are not topping their table when come to Europe Europa league as at now. ok now I leave individual performance to you all. so as i say u still stand strong with Grienzman. even though am Real Fan.
scandking
143
This nonsense how on earth can it be possible that varrane wins, how can that happen when cr7 had a wonderful year. Ohh the French people have started with their favouritism just because they took the world cup they think they need to win everything. And it can be seen because the price is being given by French people and also in their country. If they don't want they whole world to critised and talk on that let them di the right thing except they want to make us know that the saying which says football is maffia is true. So let the thick wise for the sake of the players, managers, couches, club owners, sponsors and fans cus this may cus a drastic situation
Luubryz
133
It's all about stopping their reigning dominance!!!! Fine!!!!! Do it!!!!, but u knw the thing is, dat everyone knws who actually deserves it most.... This should not b up on team performances......
tangkam25
104
no need to compate in terms of goals scored forwards like Ronaldo and Messi vs central mid-field like luka..compare from other angles cuz Luka deserve ballon d'or this time..if not luka none other than Ronaldo..Messi won't get for sure.
aashir_96
85
Non of these players deserves ballon d or look at modric he is just an average player at madrid after ronaldo departure....Varane he is a good player winner of UCL and WC but most of the times he make blunders which caused is team...And griezmann i dont want to talk about this man I dont want to value him... just over rated.... In my opinion 1.Ronaldo. Winner 2.Modric. 3.Messi/Salah
JosephPrakkadan
66
Modric???