Ballon d'Or Power Rankings: July 2021
The Ballon d'Or is the most prestigious individual prize in football. The award is presented by French news magazine France Football. The winner is chosen on the basis of a combination of votes from journalists, national team captains and coaches.
Copa America 2021 and Euro 2020 will play a role in deciding the Ballon d'Or race
The Ballon d'Or was canceled in 2020 in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. But it is back now and it has been quite an exciting year for football fans all around the world. A hugely entertaining 2020-21 season in Europe was followed by Euro 2020 and the Copa America 2021.
Both continental competitions will have an influence on who gets to wrap their hands around the Ballon d'Or. Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have exercised a duopoly of sorts over the Ballon d'Or in the last decade and a half. But the race has been blown wide open this year.
Without further ado, let's take a look at the Ballon d'Or Power Rankings for the month of July.
#10 Neymar Jr. - Brazil/Paris Saint-Germain
Neymar Jr. was Brazil's driving force behind their run to the final of the Copa America 2021. He continues to be the main man for his national side, scoring two goals and providing three assists as Brazil finished as the runner-up at the tournament.
Neymar won the Coup de France with Paris Saint-Germain. The lack of a major trophy will be detrimental to his hopes of winning the Ballon d'Or. Neymar has 17 goals and provided 11 assisfor PSG in 31 matches across all competitions in the 2020-21 season.
If he goes on to have a stellar first half of the season, then Neymar might climb higher up the list. But until then he stays low with a thin chance.
#9 Romelu Lukaku - Belgium/Inter Milan
Belgium will play France in the final of the UEFA Nations League in October. If Romelu Lukaku can inspire the Belgian Red Devils to a win against the world champions, he could very well finish on the Ballon d'Or podium.
Lukaku has been a force to be reckoned with this year. He was arguably Inter Milan's best player as they won the Serie A title. He was pretty good at Euro 2020 as well, scoring four goals for Belgium but they were beaten in the quarter-finals by Italy.
The Belgian striker scored 30 goals and provided 10 assists in 44 matches across all competitions for Inter Milan in the 2020-21 season.
#8 Kylian Mbappe - France/Paris Saint-Germain
Kylian Mbappe could have greatly boosted his chances of winning the Ballon d'Or with a good outing at Euro 2020. However, he had a rather forgettable time at the continental competition as France crashed out in the Round of 16 against Switzerland.
Mbappe lacks a major trophy and this spells bad news for him as far as the race for the Ballon d'Or is concerned. At club level, he has won the Coupe de France & Trophee des Champions. In total, Mbappe scored 42 goals and provided 11 assists in 47 games for PSG in 2020-21.
But Mbappe will need to win the UEFA Nations League final with France if he is to even come close to the podium.