The Euros and the Copa America are behind us. International football has come to an end for the time being and league football across Europe has returned. We have already had some cracking games so far throughout the leagues. Big wins, stunning upsets and shocking transfers have stolen headlines as all the action and drama of league football is back in full form. Supporters are absolutely loving every bit of it. The beginning of league football also means that the Ballon d’Or award is closing in. This prestigious award—which is generally given out in mid-December—was canceled last year, however, it will resume this year with a couple of Chelsea players set to be involved.
While Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have been the clear favorites in the last decade, the 2020s can feature a plethora of new winners. Last season, Polish striker Robert Lewandowski from Bayern Munich was tipped to win the prestigious award after completing the sextuple. However, the award ceremony was canceled and he was left disappointed. Last season, the Germans had a good season, however, it was not a stellar season.
Could a player from Chelsea finally win the prestigious Ballon d’Or award?
Chelsea was the team to beat in Europe last season and against all odds, it managed to lift its second-ever UEFA Champions League trophy. The Blues defeated the likes of Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid, Porto and Manchester City in order to lift the most sought-after trophy at club level. Thus, a few of their players have also made themselves the favorites to win the prestigious award. Today, we will be looking at the top five players who can win the 2021 edition of the Ballon d’Or, thus without any further ado, let’s get into the list.
5. Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)
Man City superstar and former Chelsea flop, Kevin De Bruyne, once again showed the world why he is considered one of the best playmakers of the modern generation. The 30-year-old had a wonderful season with the Citizens and went on to win two more trophies. Not only did they win the Premier League with ease, but they also picked up yet another Carabao Cup trophy, as well. De Bruyne might have not scored a lot of goals, but he was directly involved in 28 goals last season.
He is one of the most influential players of this generation, and his vision is comparable to a prime Mesut Ozil. Under Pep Guardiola’s guidance, he has become an unstoppable machine. The Belgian picked up his second PFA Player’s Player of the Year award last season, as well. This was his second best player award in a row and he seems to be the most talented player in the Premier League. However, he can only find himself in fifth-place due to the lack of European glory.
In the match against Chelsea, N’Golo Kante definitely got the better of him throughout the game, and the usually calm Belgian looked quite frustrated. Things did not get any better as he was then injured after a collision with Antonio Rudiger and he was forced into a substitution. His Euros campaign was decent however, Belgium was the favorite to win and it failed to do that. The quarterfinals loss against Italy really hurt De Bruyne’s chances of winning the coveted award.
Not only did he have little-to-no impact in the match against Chelsea in the UCL final, but he also failed to have a successful Euros campaign with Belgium, a team that is considered the best in the world at the moment. He managed to score once and provided two assists in the tournament, however, the Red Devils once again failed to lift a silverware. Thus, De Bruyne cannot expect to win the Ballon d’Or this year.
4. Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
The rightful winner of the 2020 Ballon d’Or will be taking the number four spot in the rankings due to his incredible record-breaking goal tally in the Bundesliga. When the 33-year-old striker scored 55 goals in the 2019/20 season, no one expected him to improve on that the very next season. Given his age, people expected the Polish super striker to be slowing down. Instead, the player performed even better in the next season, although Bayern as a team could not emulate the sextuple-winning season.
The former Borussia Dortmund striker ended up scoring 48 goals in 40 appearances, which is a bit less than his 2019 season, but he did play seven games less. What is incredible, however, is that 41 of these goals were scored in the league, which means that Lewandowski successfully broke German legend Gerd Mullers’ 49-year-old record. Muller had scored 40 goals in the 1971/72 season, and for decades, this record was considered untouchable. Lewandowski came close in the 2019 season, but in the 2020 season, he finally managed to break the record and create history.
As of now, the Polish striker is the most deadly striker Bundesliga has ever seen and it doesn’t look like he is slowing down anytime soon. While he did have another fantastic season, and arguably a better season than last to last year, the fact of the matter is that the only major trophy he won was the Bundesliga trophy. The Germans were knocked out by Paris Saint-Germain in the UCL and they were even knocked out of domestic competitions by Bundesliga two side, Holstein Kiel.
His Euros were not great either, although he managed to score three goals. Poland failed to make it out of the group stage, and with that, Lewandowski probably ended his chances of winning the Ballon d’Or this season. He might shoot to the top of the list if he starts scoring a lot of goals again. However, as of now, Bayern has already drawn one match, whereas Chelsea started its season with three wins out of three. As for now, the legendary striker will only take the No. 4 spot.
3. N’Golo Kante (Chelsea)
One of the favorites to win the Ballon d’Or this season is none other than Chelsea’s very own sweetheart, N’Golo Kante. The Frenchman who became the engine of Chelsea’s midfield, and can be found all over the pitch at all times, definitely deserves the prestigious award after his breathtaking performances in the UCL. The Blues would have never won the Champions League had it not been for Kante’s unreal outings. His four Man of the Match trophies in the knock-out stages are a testament to his commitment to the club.
While it was not one of Kante’s best seasons for the Blues domestically, his performances in Europe outweigh 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. Along with that, Jorginho also started to put in some brilliant performances, which further shut down his chances in the starting XI. However, Thomas Tuchel trusted the midfielder in high-profile matches against Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid and Man City—Kante performed brilliantly.
The warrior ran his heart out, annoyed the opposition, stole their passes and made breathtaking runs that they could not predict. 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. However, Les Bleus had a mediocre campaign (at best) and were knocked out by Switzerland. Kante was not at his best, and this could be due to a taxing end to the season. However, the main culprit was the defense, which let in two goals to the Swiss in the last 10 minutes of the game. Due to a mediocre Euros campaign, and not even starting in the UEFA Super Cup, Kante can only be given a third-place finish on this list. While everyone wants the ever-smiling and humble man to win the award, there were two players who were just a bit better.
2. Jorginho (Chelsea)
Chelsea’s best player last season in Europe was undoubtedly Jorginho. For the first time since his arrival in 2018, the Italian maestro showed his true potential. His work as a defensive midfielder was sublime, his vision as a central midfielder was as good as ever, but his best attribute throughout the season was to dictate the pace of the game. Jorginho has the uncanny ability to stop the pace of the game and rebuild according to his will. He can control the midfield all by himself, but with a player like Kante beside him, he is unstoppable.
Not only was the 28-year-old fundamental in Chelsea’s success last season, but he was also in fact the top scorer for the Blues in the Premier League. The former Napoli man scored seven goals from the spot to take the No. 1 spot, one ahead of both Tammy Abraham, Mason Mount and Timo Werner. He is definitely made to be a leader, and it would not be surprising to see him take the captain’s armband once Cesar Azpilicueta eventually leaves the club. He is already the vice-captain of the club and his win-or-die attitude makes him a perfect player for the Premier League.
When he first came from Serie A, there was a noticeable culture shock. The PL is more fast-paced and physical, it took him some time to adjust to his new surroundings. However, last season he looked like a veteran in the league and he was not afraid to lunge into tackles, butt heads with the opposition and throw his body on the line to stop an attack from developing. His tackling has also gotten better, which is evident when evaluating the fewer yellow cards he got last season—only two, compared to his 10 in the 2019/20 season.
While Chelsea wouldn’t have won the UCL without Kante or Jorginho, the reason why the Italian manages to finish above his teammate is due to his amazing Euro 2020 campaign. Italy was the dark horse of the tournament, everybody expected it to do well, but only a few predicted them to win. Not only did the Italians win the Cup, they did so in style beating some of the biggest teams in the world in Belgium, Spain and England. Jorginho was once again instrumental for his team in the Euros, and he was often referred to as the conductor orchestrating the Italian midfield. He was, in fact, the hardest worker on the field and he covered the most distance as well (86.61 km). His penalty against Spain saw Gli Azzurri through to the finals. Even though he failed to score the winning penalty against England, he is still one of the only 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.
1. Lionel Messi (Barcelona/PSG)
The only person who could realistically win the Ballon d’Or apart from Jorginho and Kante is Lionel Messi. Not only can he win his seventh trophy, but he is considered by many the favorite to do so. While in terms of trophies, Barcelona only managed to win the Copa del Rey, Messi’s individual stats last season were on a different level. The Argentine seemed to have put on his best shooting boots and went on a rampage to pick up his eighth Pichichi trophy.
The 34-year-old scored 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, which won him his fifth consecutive top goal scorer trophy. He was also one of the best players on the pitch, completing the most amount of dribbles, as well as being the most fouled player in La Liga.
All of this is impressive however, Barca only won the domestic cup, so why is Messi still the favorite to win the Ballon d’Or? Well, this is mostly due to his absolutely amazing run in the 2021 Copa America. The Argentine, after four previous final losses, finally managed to win his first major international trophy. This was a historical moment for the world’s greatest player. Nevertheless, he was not just an ideal spectator in the tournament either. The Argentine scored four goals and provided five assists in the tournament, and was named the Best Player of the Tournament, alongside Neymar Jr.
This impressive achievement—along with the traditional bias shown to attacking players—makes Messi the most likely player to win the Ballon d’Or. In 2019, when Virgil van Dijk was tipped to win the prestigious award, Messi came out on top as the award generally favors goal scorers. It is a shame to see the forwards always taking away the limelight, but that is the reality of the 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.
Who do you think will win the prestigious Ballon d’Or this year? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!