Following a one-year hiatus, France Football will once again be handing the infamous Ballon d’Or for the best footballer in 2021.
The voting is already done, and the winner will be announced on November 29. However, a report from Spain decided to accelerate the proceedings and leak the Top 20 list, in a similar fashion to 2018, when Luka Modric won the prestigious award.
According to Marca, Robert Lewandowski will be announced as the winner, with Leo Messi and Karim Benzema completing the podium. Mohamed Salah is tipped to land at fourth, with Jorginho right behind him.
Former Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo won’t be happy if he truly finishes 9th. His ex-captain Giorgio Chiellini is expected to be the 13th on the list
Leonardo Bonucci was also chosen amongst the Top 30, but his name was nowhere to be found amongst the leaked final 20.
Here’s the full list:
- Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
- Leo Messi (PSG)
- Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)
- Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
- Jorginho (Chelsea)
- Kylian Mbappé (PSG)
- N’Golo Kanté (Chelsea)
- Erling Haaland (Dortmund)
- Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
- Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City)
- Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG)
- Luka Modric (Real Madrid)
- Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus)
- Harry Kane (Tottenham)
- Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United)
- Ruben Dias (Manchester City)
- Romelu Lukaku (Chelsea)
- Pedri (Barcelona)
- Neymar (PSG)
- Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City)
Juve FC say
Once considered to be at the edge of retirement, finishing as high as 13th at the age of 37 is surely an achievement that Chiellini should be proud of.
As for Lewandowski, many believe that he was robbed by the organizers’ decision not to present the award last season, and thus, this will be their chance to pay homage for one of the sport’s deadliest strikers.
