The Ballon d'Or could be back in familiar hands this year
#2 Kylian Mbappe (France, Paris Saint-Germain)
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Manchester United v Paris Saint-Germain - UEFA Champions League Round of 16: First Leg
The sensational youngster is tipped to take over the mantle from Messi and Ronaldo in the near future. He first appeared in the Ballon d'Or rankings in 2017, where he finished 7th with 48 votes. Mbappe saw his stocks rise after a brilliant FIFA World Cup last year, and finished 4th with 347 votes in the 2018 Ballon d'Or. This season, he has gone from strength to strength with each passing game and at the start of May, is second among the top contenders for the award.
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The Frenchman has scored 36 goals and registered 12 assists from 41 games in all competitions for his club so far. He is all set to win his first Ligue 1 Golden Boot and has already won the Ligue 1 with PSG this season. He was also challenging for the European Golden Shoe, however a straight red in the French Cup might have killed his chances.
Even though he has a lot of scope for improvement, there's no doubt that Mbappe is one of the best young talents in the world right now. Perhaps a lengthier run in the Champions League would have bolstered his chances at winning the Ballon d'Or this season.
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About the author
Deepungsu Pandit
Deepungsu is a veteran football journalist who has been covering daily transfer roundups and news for over six years at Sportskeeda. He has written close to 9000 articles for the website, and has garnered over 19.5Million reads.
Deepungsu holds a PG degree in Microbiology and an MBA degree in Total Quality Management. He has an extensive two-decade long writing experience, which includes a decade of sports blogging. His writing prowess has even led his work getting cited on the legendary Franz Beckenbauer's Wikipedia page.
Inspired by Diego Maradona, Deepungsu played as an attacking midfielder for his local club at subdivision level in his initial years and scored an important goal or two. However, his all-time favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and evidently, he feels Argentina's glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment for fulfilling his long-standing dream. He is also an ardent East Bengal fan.
Deepungsu has been a Manchester United supporter since the year 2000. Unsurprisingly, his favorite manager is Sir Alex Ferguson and the Scotsman helped him get through some of the toughest days of his life. Like the fiery Scot, Deepungsu also leaves no stone unturned when it comes to accuracy in articles and only relies on credible sources.
Despite believing in Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland to create an iconic rivalry, Deepungsu reckons no one can match the longevity of Messi and Ronaldo. He spends his leisure time writing about life on his blog, reading books, and playing the guitar.
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