Who will win the Ballon D'or ?

With less than 2 months to go before we know which player has been voted the Player of the year the spotlight is well and truly on the key contenders and their performances for both club as well as country. In recent years it has been 2 horse race between arguably the worlds best players in the form of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi with the latter managing to beat his rival for the past 4 years but will it Messi magic again at the Gala event or will CR7 finally get the monkey of his back and win the prestigious award or can this be the year where Messi and Ronaldo make way for someone new. With enough controversy created by FIFA chief Sepp Blatter with regards to his comments on Cristiano Ronaldo have bought an added edge and thrill to the grand event.

For starters this year event is going to be the most closely contested one we have seen in this recent years mainly due to the fact that a certain Frank Ribery same has also been drawn into the mix for the award. By being part of treble winning squad of Bayern Munich coupled with a string of scintillating performances has enhanced the chances of the French winger further.

With Ribery winning the UEFA Player of the year in 2012-13 ahead of Messi and Ronaldo has done no harm to his reputation and chances of winning the Ballon D’or.However his contribution for his country France has been ordinary and that might prove to be a stumbling block for the prolific winger. Another player who seems to be in clinical and devastating form has been Zlatan Ibrahimovic.The big Swedish striker knack of scoring incredible goals and seems to have hit a purple patch for his club Paris Saint Germain in Ligue as well as in Champions League.Ibrahimovic has also carried the weight of his expectation at national level too with his performance against Portugal a clear show of individual talent that the striker posses.

But the focus will be squarely on two biggest names in shortlist in form of Messi and Ronaldo. Ronaldo seems to have stepped up his game to another level with his pace and finishing both clinical as well eye catching. With a total of 66 goals in the calendar year the Portuguese goal machine seems in the form of his life with the hat trick against Sweden a clear indicator of the power he posses along with ability to get into goal scoring positions regularly.

With Ronaldo leading Messi in terms of goals both during this season as well as the calendar year CR7 seems to be favorite to finally break the grip of Messi over the award. The fact that voting for Ballon D’or was extended to November 29th in light of the ruthless and efficient performance which Ronaldo wrapped up by grabbing an hat trick.Messi this season has not gone as per plan it can be said in light of the high standards and record breaking performances which we are so accustomed to from the Barcelona maestro. Constant hamstring issues has plagued Messi since last season and with him expected to be out for another 6 to 8 weeks will just add to his woes.

There is no denying however Messi still has the class and quality of a different league which is unparalleled to many on Ballon D’or shortlist. It remains to be seen if Messi magic and his past performances will convince jury consisting player’s managers and prominent sports journalist. There is no question that Ballon D’or this year is going to grab the headlines like it does every year with so much controversy and hype surrounding the event it seems football fans can’t wait for the month of January to know which player will rein supreme over the rest.