END OF AN ERA FOR MESSI AND RONALDO?
2018 could be the year when their Ballon d’Or’s duopoly is finally broken
LONDON
One of Neymar’s biggest rivals for the 2018 title is club teammate Kylian Mbappe.
After helping Monaco win Ligue 1, Mbappe jumped ship and moved to French rivals PSG. Along with Neymar, Mbappe is a part of the attacking trio that have been PSG’s main asset so far this season.
At just 19 years old, Mbappe still has a lot to prove. As part of a youthful French side heading to Russia, he will get his chance to show the world what he can do.
If he does win the 2018 Ballon d’Or, he would be the youngest ever player to do so.
the last campaign.
Manchester City have started this season in fantastic form, winning 19 and drawing two of their opening 21 Premier League games.
Kevin De Bruyne has been at the heart of everything positive City have done, with seven goals and 12 assists so far this season. City are 14 points clear in the league and still in the other three competitions.
Silverware is seemingly inevitable at the Etihad this season. If De Bruyne can carry his current form into the second half of the season and into the World Cup, then he will be in with a chance of being the first Belgian to win the Ballon d’Or.
The third Frenchman on this list is Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann. Griezmann finished third in the 2016 Ballon d’Or behind Messi and Ronaldo but hasn’t started this season very well.
If Griezmann can finish the season off with some silverware then he shouldn’t be far off the top.
In a team full of attacking talent, Toni Kroos quietly goes about his business in a star-studded Real Madrid team.
Real, however, owe a lot of their recent success to the job that Kroos does in midfield.
With Ronaldo and Gareth Bale not having their best seasons in front of goal, is this the year that Kroos finally gets recognised? Not to forget, he travels to Russia aiming to retain the World Cup with Germany.