Argentina and Barcelona captain Lionel Messi’s reported rivals for this year’s Ballon d’Or have been revealed.
According to Mundo Deportivo, Messi, who won Copa del Rey with Barcelona this year, will battle Chelsea and Italy hero, Jorginho, as well as France midfielder, N’Golo Kante for the Ballon d’ Or.
The 34-year-old won his first trophy for Argentina last weekend as they defeated Brazil 1-0 in the Copa America final at the Maracana Stadium, thanks to Angel Di Maria’s first-half goal.
The Barcelona number 10, who scored the most goals at Copa America, also won the player of the tournament.
Meanwhile, Kante has been tipped to win the Ballon d’ Or following his outstanding display for Chelsea against Manchester City as they won the 2020/21 Champions League.
Kante also won the ‘Man of the Match’ in the win over Man City, but his chances could be affected by France’s poor display at the just concluded Euro 2020, having been knocked out by Switzerland in the round of 16.
Jorginho, however, has also been tipped by former Chelsea manager, Maurizio Sarri, to win the Ballon d’ Or.
He has enjoyed a stunning year, winning both the Champions League and Euro 2020.
Amongst other contenders for the Ballon d’ Or are; Kylian Mbappe, Robert Lewandowski, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kevin De Bruyne, Raheem Sterling, Harry Kane and Federico Chiesa.
Recall that the Ballon d’ Or was not handed out in 2020 due to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.
