The 63rd annual Ballon d’or award ceremony will declare the winners on 4th December 2018, and it is expected to see the end of 10 years monopoly of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi on the award. Both these players are phenomenal and unstoppable which made them 5 time Ballon d’Or winner each. But this year could mark a change as some other names are being preferred for the award.
Both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi hold a record 5 Ballon d’Or awards. From 2008 till now, the award has been bagged by either of them, which marks their dominance on the award. But this year was also phenomenal for some players other than Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi who could draft their names as the winner of Ballon d’Or award 2018. Although there are no signs of error in their performance as they have been magnificent with the game throughout the year, according to some specialists they are outperformed by players like Modric and Salah this year.
Also read: Ballon d’Or Awards 2018: Date, Time, Nominees and more
Here are some players who can win Ballon d’Or 2018:
1. Luka Modric
Croatian captain and Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric, who led his team to FIFA World Cup’s final this year, played an exceptional game and already is the winner of FIFA’s The Best Award this year. Modric is an exceptional dribbler, a world class passer, works hard, and defends smartly. He’s been the world’s finest midfielder in 2018. He has also won Champions League this year for 3rd consecutive year.
2. Cristiano Ronaldo
By winning Champions League title for record five times which includes successive run of three, he marked his dominance over the league and other clubs by inspiring Real Madrid to wins over Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus in the last Champions league fixtures. He’s since moved to Juventus and seamlessly continued his form there by scoring 10 goals and 5 assists in 14 appearances. In 2018 Cristiano has scored 45 goals and 12 assists in 47 appearances with club and national team.
3. Mohamed Salah
This year we witnessed the best individual season in Premier League history. Salah get a new record for goals in a 38-game season by scoring 32 goals in 36 appearances. His incredible form led Liverpool to the Champions League final and he represented Egypt at their first World Cup since 1990.
4. Antoine Griezmann
With four goals and two assists at the World Cup, he was the driving force behind France’s triumph. No other player was involved directly as many goals as Griezmann at the summer’s tournament. He was the man of the match in the finals as Atletico Madrid won the Europa League last season.
5. Raphael Varane
Both Real Madrid and France were hardly attacking forces in 2018, but defence and stability were the foundation of their success and Raphael Varane was key for both of them. The 25-year-old centre-back was tremendous against PSG, Juventus, Bayern and Liverpool in the Champions league, and then against Argentina, Uruguay, Belgium at the World Cup. He was the winner of two most coveted trophies in world football this season, which are Champions League and FIFA World Cup.
The 2018 Ballon d’Or is the 63rd annual award ceremony recognising the best footballer in the world for 2018. The winners will be announced on 4th December 2018 at 1.20 am IST and, for the first time in its history, the Ballon d’Or Féminin and Kopa Trophy will be awarded to the best female and male under-21 footballer, respectively.
