Ballon d'Or 2021: Top 5 Contenders who could win it this year

The Ballon d'Or is an annual football award presented by the French news magazine France Football. It is one of the oldest rewards and the whole world regards it as the most prestigious individual award for football players. France Football has been rewarding this award to the best player of the year since 1956. Although between 2010 and 2015, France Football agreed with FIFA, and the award temporarily merged with the FIFA World Player. It was then known as the FIFA Ballon d'Or. However, the partnership ended in 2016 and thereafter FIFA created The Best FIFA Men's Player as its own separate award. In this article, we will enlist the favourite candidates to win the Ballon d'Or 2021.

After the cancellation of the prize in 2020 because of the global pandemic, the Ballon d'Or is back again. Although the prize will not be handed out until December, players have started making their case for it. The continental championships will play a huge role this year along with individual performances for club and country. Lionel Messi still holds the award that he won in 2019. According to the performances so far by the players, SportzPoint ranks the favourites to win the award.

Also Read: Last 10 Ballon d'Or Winners List

Ballon d'Or 2021 power rankings: top 5 contenders to win it this year:

5. Romelo Lukaku (Belgium, Inter)

2019 Ballon d'Or ranking - 4th
Performance in 2021 - 22 goals, seven assists. Won Serie A.

Romelo Lukaku had a very good chance of winning this year's Ballon d'Or if only he won the UEFA Euro 2020 with Belgium. Although he still has a chance of winning it if he can lead Belgium to glory at the Nations League finals in October. However, the award still looks out of his grip and he may have to wait another year to clinch his first-ever Ballon d'Or.

4. N'golo Kante (France, Chelsea)

2019 Ballon d'Or ranking - 3rd
Performance in 2021 - one assist. Won Champions League.

Kante was one of the serious contenders for the Ballon d'Or 2021 ahead of the Euro. With a dominating France team which was also the favourites to win the Euro this year, Kante's name was popping on top of everyone's list. However, Switzerland had other ideas. A shocking exit for France in the quarter-finals also put N'golo Kante's Ballon d'Or winning hopes in jeopardy. However, Kante's Man-of-the-Match-winning displays in the latter stages of the Champions League might be enough to secure him a place in the top three.

Also Read: Football facts: Players who won the PL, UCL and World Cup

3. Robert Lewandowski (Poland, FC Bayern Munich)

2019 Ballon d'Or ranking - 2nd
Performance in 2021- 34 goals, four assists. Won Bundesliga & Club World Cup.

Undoubtedly, Robert Lewandowski would have won the Ballon d'Or in 2020 if the pandemic wouldn't have struck. He had a very good 2020 season where he won the treble and was also the top scorer for his club. Although things might have fallen apart this year after a quarter-final exit against PSG in the UCL. However, Robert still ended up as the top scorer in Europe and bagged the European Golden Shoe for the first time in his career. He had the best individual season around the top 5 leagues of Europe winning the domestic title and also the top scorer award. However, he couldn't take Poland to the knockout stages of the Euro which might be the only thorn on his way in lifting the Ballon d'Or 2021.

2. Jorginho (Italy, Chelsea)

2019 Ballon d'Or ranking - 15th
Performance in 2021 - Five goals, two assists. Won Champions League and the UEFA Euro 2020.

From not being the best player for either his club or his national team to being considered one of the favourites to win the Ballon d'Or 2021, Jorginho has come a long way. He played a key role in both Chelsea's champions league triumph and Italy's title-winning run in Euro. The world might witness a similar story to that of 2018 when Luka Modric beat all the odds and went on to win the Ballon d'Or.

Also Read: Football Facts: Players With Champions League, World Cup and Ballon d'Or

1. Lionel Messi (Argentina, Barcelona)

2019 Ballon d'Or ranking - 1st (Winner)
Performance in 2021- 33 goals, 14 assists. Won Copa America & Copa del Rey.

Arguably, the best player in the world has won the most no.of Ballon d'Ors in history. The Argentine talisman has six awards under his belt which is more than anyone in history and is looking for the seventh. He won four consecutive awards from 2009-2012. However, he had achieved everything except a major international trophy until this Sunday, when he won the Copa America with Argentina defeating Brazil 1-0 in the final. It was the moment millions of football fans have been waiting the best part of 15 years for, as Messi finally got his hands on a major international trophy. He was also awarded the Player of the Tournament and the Top Scorer award at Copa America.

Messi's carried his supreme club form in 2021 into the international arena, and now Ballon d'Or number seven is pretty much on the cards. Before Copa America Messi had a pretty thin chance of winning this year's Ballon d'Or, but after adding Copa America under his belt he is now the strongest contender to win the Ballon d'Or 2021.

Also read: Football Gossip: Laporta's dream, Messi and Ronaldo at Barcelona