Lionel Messi, Paris Saint-Germain star, has been tipped to win the 2021 Ballon d’Or ahead of Jorginho and N’Golo Kante.
However, the two Chelsea stars are in serious contention to claim the most prestigious individual award, according to Fansided power ranking.
Messi could be winning his seventh trophy after being considered by many as the favorite to do so.
Messi won the Copa del Rey with Barcelona and the Copa America with Argentina, scoring 38 goals in all competitions while also providing 14 assists, meaning that he was directly involved in 52 goals scored by Barca last season.
He was a dominant figure in the league, and no one came close to his 30-goal tally in LaLiga.
The Argentine also scored four goals in the Copa America and provided five assists and was named the Best Player of the Tournament, alongside Neymar Jr.
Also the traditional bias shown to attacking players makes the 34-year-old the most likely player to win the individual award.
Unless Jorginho or Kante has a massive start to the 2021 season, Messi will most likely collect his seventh ballon d’Or and assert his legacy as the greatest of all-time.
Second on the list is Jorginho, who was undoubtedly Chelsea’s best player last season in Europe with the Brazil-born Italian maestro showing his true potential.
The 28-year-old was fundamental in Chelsea’s success last season, helping them to win the Champions League and emerged the top scorer for Thomas Tuchel’s Blues in the Premier League.
Jorginho also led Italy to the Euro 2020 trophy. The midfielder covered the most distance as well (86.61 km). His penalty against Spain saw his team progress to the finals.
The midfielder emerged one of the few players to have won the Champions League, Euros and the Super Cup in the same year. Thus, he takes the second spot on the list.
Another Chelsea player favoured to win the award is N’golo Kante, who is placed as number three in the top five list by Fansided.
The Frenchman deserves the prestigious award after his breathtaking performances in the UEFA Champions League.
It was Kante’s best season for Chelsea domestically, and his performances in Europe outweighed that. He was only in the starting XI 24 times in the Premier League, and this was mainly due to a hamstring injury that he suffered midway through the season.
He was undoubtedly the best performer for Chelsea in the knock-out stages of the UCL competition. He even won three consecutive MOTM awards, two against Los Blancos and one against the Citizens.
The 30-year-old was considered the favorite to win the 2021 Ballon d’Or at the time and had France won the Euros, there would be no one stopping that from happening.
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