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Club football has ended and we are now at the dawn of an international football season that promises to be electrifying and equally action-packed. Football's brightest stars are set to go head-to-head in tournaments like the Africa Cup of Nations and the Copa America in a bid to add some international silverware and individual prizes to their trophy cabinets.
One of the prizes these tournaments will heavily influence is the Ballon d'Or. While Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have dominated the award in the last decade, their duopoly was shattered when Luka Modric controversially took home the gong last year.
With the 2018-19 performances reviewed, fans have already begun betting on the players they think deserve football's most prestigious award this year. Here, we take a look at six players and their probabilities to win the 2019 edition of the Ballon d'Or based on the latest betting odds on Bet365.
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#5 Liverpool's Sadio Mane (25/1)
Sadio Mane’s odds of winning the Ballon d'Or have slimmed down dramatically, with the Senegalese forward now at a 25/1 chance of lifting the coveted prize.
Mane has enjoyed his best ever season in terms of goal-scoring, having netted 26 goals in 49 appearances for the Reds. He not only finished his campaign with a Premier League Golden Boot but also earned a Champions League medal after Liverpool defeated Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League final earlier this month.
The 27-year-old was also named in the PFA Team of the Year and was nominated for the PFA Players’ Player of the Year award for his contribution to Jurgen Klopp's side.
A decisive performance in the African Cup of Nations this summer could greatly influence his rankings in the Ballon d’Or.
#4 Manchester City's Raheem Sterling (25/1)
Raheem Sterling has shed his 'potential-wonderkid' status in the last two seasons and has evolved into one of the best attacking players in the Premier League. According to bookmakers, the England international stands at a 25/1 in the Ballon d'Or odds, same as Sadio Mane.
The winger has 25 goals and 18 assists to his name in all competitions and helped his team to an unprecedented domestic treble at the end of the season. His spectacular exploits for Manchester City will make it difficult for voters to overlook him in the voting process and he could find himself ranked higher than ever before in the upcoming Ballon d'Or.
Despite Manchester City's domestic treble glory, the fact remains that they could not prove themselves in the stage that has been deemed crucial for the Ballon d'Or: the Champions League.
This, coupled with heavy competition from players who have better numbers and a higher ranking in the Champions League, will surely work against Sterling when the voting process begins.
#3 Liverpool's Mohamed Salah (20/1)
Mohamed Salah's decisive goal against Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League finals earlier this month increased Liverpool's confidence in the game from the get-go and has put him a few places higher in this week's Ballon d'Or betting odds, with the bookmakers revealing he has a 20/1 chance of lifting the award this year.
The Liverpool ace ended his domestic season with a second consecutive Premier League Golden Boot, which speaks volumes on the consistency the man has had to offer despite his initial shortcomings at the start of the season.
The Egypt international has 22 league goals to his name, same as teammate Sadio Mane, but it is his Champions League goals that will help him gain some points in the voting process for the Ballon d'Or.
Salah's European final goal, which marked the forward's redemption after last year's Kiev disaster, is currently the second-quickest goal scored in the European competition ever.
While the forward has enjoyed a decent season for the Reds, he is nowhere near the electrifying Egyptian we saw last season. The 26-year-old failed to turn up in a series of games for the Premier League champions, and the side were lucky an in-form Sadio Mane saved them from losing points.
#3 Juventus' Cristiano Ronaldo (20/1)
Like Mo Salah, Cristiano Ronaldo's chances of winning the 2019 Ballon d'Or have increased to 20/1 after Portugal's Nations League victory over the Netherlands last weekend. The forward's second international title comes at the back of a successful debut season with Juventus, with whom he won his maiden Serie A title.
The 34-year-old played a pivotal role in the Old Lady's domestic and European campaign, netting 28 goals for the Bianconeri in all competitions, while breaking league records along the way. His exploits during Juventus' eighth consecutive league title win also earned him a Serie A Player of the Year award.
The former Real Madrid ace was equally influential in the Champions League despite Juventus' early exit from the competition. Having dominated the Serie A for the better part of a decade, the club brought the superstar from Real Madrid to add strength and depth to a team that was gunning for the European crown.
His most memorable European performance might just be his phenomenal hat-trick against Atletico Madrid in the Round of 16, which helped him overturn a two-goal deficit to fire his side to the quarter-finals.
However, what has set Ronaldo back in the rankings is presumably the tough competitors from Europe's other leagues and Juventus' Champions League exit in the quarter-finals.
#2 Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Barcelona captain Lionel Messi has been the overwhelming favourite to win the 2019 Ballon d'Or but recent betting odds reveal that the forward has been thrown off the top of the list with a 6/5 chance of winning the award at the end of the year.
The Argentine maestro enjoyed one of the best seasons in his career, but Barcelona's grand collapse in the UEFA Champions League and the Copa del Rey could influence his ranking for the worse when the time comes.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner has scored 51 goals in all competitions for the Catalan giants, helping them to a La Liga title and a Supercopa de España trophy.
The two titles have proven to be an underwhelming conclusion of an otherwise electrifying individual season, especially since the Blaugrana were favourites going into the two competitions.
The Spanish champions crashed out of the Champions League after a shock defeat to Liverpool in the semi-finals despite having a three-goal lead going into the closing leg. Their hard luck continued when they lost the Copa del Rey finals to Valencia a few days later.
Considering Virgil van Dijk's Nations League defeat, the Argentine could increase his chances of lifting his sixth Ballon d'Or by leading his national team to Copa America glory.
#1 Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
A defeat in the UEFA Nations League final has done nothing for Virgil van Dijk's Ballon d'Or odds, as the Dutchman has now surpassed Lionel Messi in the race for the coveted trophy with a 5/6 chance of winning the coveted award.
The Netherlands were handed a 1-0 defeat by Portugal in the Nations League finals held at the Estádio do Dragão on Sunday night. The loss has, however, failed to eclipse the defender's outstanding performances for Liverpool all season.
The former Southampton man has proven himself to be a leader to the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson in the Reds defence, helping them maintain one of the best defensive records in Europe in the recently-concluded campaign.
Van Dijk had a substantial influence in Liverpool's 97-point haul in the Premier League and their Champions League glory against Tottenham Hotspur, thereby finishing his season with a European medal and the PFA Player of the Year award.
Should the Dutchman's form remain the same for the rest of the year, he could just become the first defender to win the Ballon d'Or since Fabio Cannavaro in 2006
