Ballon d'Or Power Rankings: October 2021
The race for this year's Ballon d'Or is heating up. The award presented by French news magazine France Football, is widely regarded as the most prestigious individual prize in football. Unlike previous years where we've had clear-cut favourites, there is no predicting who is going to win it this year.
The Ballon d'Or winner is chosen on the basis of a combination of votes from journalists, national team captains and coaches.
The Ballon d'Or 30-man shortlist was released in early October
France Football narrowed down the list of contenders for this year's Ballon d'Or by releasing a 30-man shortlist on the 8th of October. The usual suspects are all present and there is very little to differentiate the best players in the world this time around.
We've had almost a year and a half of non-stop footballing action following the Covid-19 break in 2020. A lot has happened in that time and come November 29th, all our guesswork and predictions will be put to the test when this year's Ballon d'Or winner is finally named.
Without further ado, let's take a look at the Ballon d'Or Power Rankings for the month of October.
#10 Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium/Manchester City)
Kevin De Bruyne would have been one of the frontrunners for this year's Ballon d'Or had Manchester City gone on to beat Chelsea in the Champions League final. Unfortunately for him, he was forced off injured early in the second half of the game as City fell to a 1-0 loss against Chelsea.
De Bruyne has been phenomenal for Manchester City in recent seasons and he was in fine form in the 2020-21 season as well. The 30-year-old won the PFA Player of the Year Award this year to make it two in a row. He scored 10 goals and provided 18 assists in 40 appearances for Manchester City last term.
He was also influential for Belgium at Euro 2016, scoring a goal and providing three assists in four appearances at the tournament. De Bruyne won the Premier League and the Carabao Cup with Manchester City last term.
#9 Erling Haaland (Norway/Borussia Dortmund)
Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland is presently regarded as the next big thing in football. Don't get us wrong, he is already a superstar at the age of 21 but given how exceptional a goalscorer he already is, the sky is the limit for the Norwegian international.
Haaland has been stacking up incredible numbers ever since breaking into the professional circuit. In the 2020-21 season, Haaland scored 41 goals and provided 12 assists in 41 appearances across all competitions. He won the DFB Pokal with Dortmund last term.
Haaland has got off to a flying start in the new season and has 13 goals and four assists to his name in just 10 appearances.
Erling Haaland scored 49 goals in 49 Bundesliga official games since he joined Borussia Dortmund. 🟡🤖 #Haaland #BVB https://t.co/bkNPIJvN7o
#8 Kylian Mbappe (France/Paris Saint-Germain)
Kylian Mbappe would have found himself higher up the list had he not been uncharacteristically off colour at Euro 2020. Mbappe had just one assist to his name in four appearances in the continental competition as France crashed out in the Round of 16 against Switzerland.
However, he did have a wonderful 2020-21 campaign where he scored 42 goals and provided 11 assists in 47 appearances across all competitions for Paris Saint-Germain. The 22-year-old also won the Coupe de France & Trophee des Champions.
Mbappe scored a hat-trick and a brace against Barcelona and Bayern Munich respectively in the Champions League last term. However, PSG's exit in the semi-final after being considered favourites to go on and win the competition has greatly hampered the Frenchman's chances in the Ballon d'Or race.
Kylian Mbappe never slows down ⚡️ https://t.co/i4Zz4nDitx