Prior to the 2018 World Cup, the winner of the Ballon d’Or was only ever going to be a race between two men.
Ronaldo vs Messi
One of those men seemed to have it sewn up having won the Champions League with Real Madrid and that man is Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese international finished as the competitions top goal scorer, netting 15 times, which was 5 goals more than his closet rivals.
Ronaldo has won the Ballon d’Or five times, including each of the last two years. The only player to match him has been Lionel Messi. The Barcelona forward led his team to the 2017/18 La Liga title, scoring 34 goals in the process. Messi finished 8 goals clear of Ronaldo, who was second in the Spanish scoring charts.
World Cup Heartbreak
Therefore, the World Cup was always going to be a great way to split the two players but both were in for a shock. Both Ronaldo and Messi were eliminated from the tournament at the Round of 16 stage.
Ronaldo scored 4 goals, including a hattrick against Spain and Messi managed just one goal, which came in the win over Nigeria. However, neither player could lead their team to glory and perhaps this has opened a path for a different player to come through as a contender for the 2018 Ballon d’Or.
Neymar’s World Cup
Neymar has been tipped as the man to take over as the world’s best player when Ronaldo and Messi begin to fade. The Brazilian won the Ligue 1 title with Paris Saint-Germain this season but if he is to win the 2018 Ballon d’Or, Neymar will need to lift up the World Cup.
One thing is for sure, you cannot keep Neymar out of the headlines at the World cup and the Brazilian has scored two crucial goals to lead his team through to the quarter-final. He opened the scoring in the Round of 16 match against Mexico when the game was looking tight and this led to a 2-0 win for his country.
If Neymar can take Brazil to World Cup glory, especially after the embarrassment of four years ago against Germany, he will be crowned the king of world football and a leading contender for the 2018 Ballon d’Or.
Mbappe and Modric
Other players hoping to make a name for themselves at the World Cup include Kylian Mbappe and Luka Modric. The former scored two great goals against Argentina, while Modric scored a beauty against the same team and has been orchestrating things from midfield. If either France or Croatia go on to win the World Cup, both players will become genuine contenders to win the Ballon d’Or.
Salah’s Top Season
Finally, we cannot forget what Mohamed Salah achieved this season for Liverpool. He finished as the top goal scorer in the Premier League and helped the club reach the Champions League final. Salah did not have a great time at the World Cup with Egypt but did manage to score two goals before elimination at the group stage and is sure to feature in the voting.
Ronaldo remains the favourite to win the 2018 Ballon d’Or but several players have their eye on the prize and a World Cup winning performance could make all the difference.
