DBasia.news – The era of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi has come to an end. The new generation is coming to replace them in the competition to get the world’s best player title.
Calciomercato reported, quoting from Radio France Internationale journalist Eric Mamruth, with half votes for top three 2018 Ballon d’Or candidates, there are no either Messi or Ronaldo name listed.
The names listed are Luka Modric (Real Madrid), Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain), and Raphael Varane (Real Madrid). Whether it’s true or not, still a mystery. But if it’s true, it would be the first time since 2007, the Ballon d’Or winner is not Messi or Ronaldo, which both have five Ballon d’Or achievements.
11 years ago, Kaka won it after bringing AC Milan won the seventh Champions League title. He was called as the ‘last player’ who won it because, after that, Ronaldo and Messi keep on competing to be the best.
Their rivalry also intensified by the El Clasico match in Spain. Messi represented FC Barcelona and Ronaldo with Madrid. The domination is starting to replaced by Ronaldo’s exit to Juventus this summer, ending his nine years story with El Real.
Both Ronaldo and Messi are competitive. However, they are no longer young. Ronaldo is 33, and Messi is 31.
Mbappe’s existence, who just entered his 19, is proving that their era is ending, sooner or later.
The announcement of 2018 Ballon d’Or winner will be conducted in Paris on December 3rd. If Modric wins that award, the Croatian midfielder achieved prestigious individual awards from the Best FIFA Men’s Player 2018, Best Player in Europe, and 2018 World Cup Golden Ball winner.
Lionel Messi
Here are 10 top candidates of 2018 Ballon d’Or:
- Luka Modric
- Raphael Varane
- Kylian Mbappe
- Cristiano Ronaldo
- Lionel Messi
- Mohamed Salah
- Antoine Griezmann
- N’Golo Kante
- Neymar
- Eden Hazard