Who will win the 2021 Ballon d'Or?

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It's time to decide the world's best footballer again

The winner of the Men's Ballon d'Or will be decided on 29th November. Let's have a look at some of the contenders. Will we see a shock?

Cristiano Ronaldo - Ballon d'Or

Cesar Azpilicueta

Chelsea's Cesar Azpilicueta is one of the more surprising names on the shortlist.The defender is something of an unsung hero, helped Chelsea to win the Champions League last season and also reached the Nations League final with Spain.

Karim Benzema

The French forward was overshadowed at Real Madrid for a long time but he's now getting the praise he deserves. He scored 30 goals in 46 matches in all competitions for Real Madrid and finished second in the La Liga Golden Boot race. He won the UEFA Nations League with France a few weeks ago. For all his goals, this was the only trophy he has picked up over the last 12 months.

Erling Braut Haaland

Unless things go drastically wrong for him, the Norwegian forward is going to feature on Ballon d'Or shortlists for many years to come. He was in amazing form last season, scoring 41 goals in as many games for Borussia Dortmund.

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Gianluigi Donnarumma

The only goalkeeper to be nominated for the award. Donnarumma only four times in seven matches throughout Euro 2020. He saved two penalties in the final shootout win over England. This gave them a first European title since 1968.

Fun fact - Lev Yashin (in 1963) remains the only goalkeeper to have ever won the Ballon d'Or

Bruno Fernandes

Since signing for Manchester United in January 2020, he has become a highly influential player for the Old Trafford club. His record of 28 goals last season was superb for a midfielder and his 12 assists was only behind Harry Kane. See some of his best moments for Manchester United in the video below.

Robert Lewandowski

This man seems to get better with age. The 2020/2021 campaign was another remarkable one for Lewandowski. He won another Bundesliga with Bayern Munich and also won the European Golden Shoe. Here at European Super Football, we believe he should win the award.

Kylian Mbappe

Like Erling Braut Haaland, Mbappe almost certainly has a Ballon d'Or in his future career. The 2020/2021 campaign saw him win a  third consecutive Ligue 1 Golden Boot with 27 goals. He alaso scored eight goals in 10 Champions League games. The French forward also scored the winner in the Nations League final in October as France beat Spain.

Or will it be Messi v Ronaldo again?

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have won 11 of the last 12 awards between them. The success of Luka Modric in 2018 is the only anomaly. Ronaldo, Messi and Modric have all been nominated again but very people anticipate it going to one of these players. 

Just who will be collecting the most prestigious individual award in football? We'll all find out soon enough. 

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