End of an era for the Ballon d'Or: Messi and Ronaldo out of the podium

11 nov 2018

Since 2007, when AC Milan player Kaka won the Ballon d'Or, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have literally monopolized the competition, winning the prestigious prize five times apiece. The next announcement of the next edition will take place on December 3 in Paris, but this year, it is rumoured that the duopoly will end.

According to rumours coming from Radio France Internationale journalist Eric Mamruth, with half of the votes already counted, none of the two champions would be on the podium. Instead, Luka Modric, Raphael Varane and Kylian Mbappe are reportedly in the top 3.

EXCLUSIF #BallondOr : Après dépouillement de la moitié des votes, le trio de tête est le suivant: 1) Modric 2) @raphaelvarane 3) @KMbappe . Info @xbarretfoot @RFIRadioFoot @RFIsports
— Eric Mamruth (@MamruthRFI) November 9, 2018

The fact that Ronaldo and Messi are out of the podium, however, shows that both were penalized by their countries' performances at the World Cup in Russia, where Varane and Mbappe played a key role for France, while Luka Modric led his Croatia team to a remarkable final in Moscow. But if it is really the World Cup that moves the balance, then perhaps the absence of Antoine Griezmann in the top 3 makes even more noise.

Click on the gallery to see the 10 main candidates for the Ballon d'Or.