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Euro 2020 is one of the biggest football tournaments in the world. The continental competition was last held in 2016 and Portugal emerged as champions after beating France in a hard-fought final. The top European players will be hoping to put on a great display at Euro 2020.
Winning trophies goes a long way towards winning the most prestigious individual award in football. Scoring a lot of goals or providing an abundance of assists won't alone cut it when it comes to winning the Ballon d'Or.
Great performances on a stage as big as Euro 2020 could seriously boost a player's chances of winning the most coveted individual award in football.
Euro 2020 will play a key role in the Ballon d'Or race
Almost all the top European footballing nations have Ballon d'Or contenders this time around. Players will be focused on getting the best results for their national sides but the better they do, the more clout they will gain in the race for the Ballon d'Or.
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Without further ado, let's take a look at five players who could win the Ballon d'Or with a good performance in the tournament.
#5 Robert Lewandowski - Poland/Bayern Munich
Robert Lewandowski is inarguably the best striker in world football right now. Poland have a pretty solid squad as well. We would even go as far as to suggest that they could be the darkhorses of Euro 2020. If his teammates can provide adequate service to Lewandowski, Poland will thrive.
The 31-year-old won the European Golden Shoe by a 11-goal margin. He scored 41 goals for Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga in the 2020-21 season while Lionel Messi, who came second in the race for the award, scored 30 in La Liga. The Polish international scored 48 goals in 40 appearances across all competitions for the Bavarians this past season.
Poland have been drawn with Slovakia, Sweden and Spain in Group E and are expected to get through to the knockout stage without much hassle. If Lewandowski can inspire them to a lengthy run at Euro 2020, the Bundesliga champion would boost his chances of winning the Ballon d'Or.
#4 Ruben Dias - Portugal/Manchester City
Premier League Player of the Year Ruben Dias has been a revelation since joining Manchester City in the summer of 2020. Over the course of the 2020-21 season, we've got to witness why Pep Guardiola wanted to shell out €68 million to sign him from Benfica.
Dias immediately improved Manchester City's defence. He also struck up a wonderful partnership at the heart of their backline with John Stones. In 32 Premier League appearances, Dias helped Manchester City keep 15 cleansheets.
He will now line up alongside Pepe at the center of Portugal's defence. Dias is part of one of the strongest Portugal sides in recent history and there is no doubt that he will have a huge role to play in dictating their fortunes at Euro 2020.
If he does in fact turn in colossal performances at Euro 2020, he will have amplified his chances of winning the Ballon d'Or.
fwow#3 Kylian Mbappe - France/Paris Saint-Germain
The 2020-21 season was a rather underwhelming one for Paris Saint-Germain. It could have been very different though. Their capitulation in the semi-finals against Manchester City and narrow loss in the Ligue 1 title race meant that the Parisiens ended the campaign without any major trophies other than the Coupe de France.
Mbappe tried his best though. He scored a total of 42 goals and provided 11 assists in 47 appearances for Paris Saint-Germain across all competitions. The 2020-21 season was another step in the right direction for the Frenchman at an individual level.
He is expected to be one of the stars of Euro 2020 as well. The best young player in the world is a nightmare for defenders and France are widely tipped to be the favourites to win Euro 2020. If they do have a triumphant campaign, Mbappe will become one of the leaders in the race for the Ballon d'Or.
#2 N'Golo Kante - France/Chelsea
Arguably the most in-form player in the world right now, N'Golo Kante is one of Didier Deschamps' main weapons at Euro 2020. The midfielder turned in four back-to-back man-of-the-match performances from the second leg of the quarter-final to the final in Chelsea's Champions League triumph.
Kante's tenacity and relentlessness were pivotal to Chelsea getting past Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid and Manchester City on their way to European glory. The 30-year-old will be one of the first names on France's teamsheet at Euro 2020. Kante tirelessly hounds opposition players and his tactical intelligence and awareness make him a threat like no other in midfield.
The Chelsea man is also great at progressing the ball and his slick passing is an underrated part of his game. There are already shouts for Kante to be given the Ballon d'Or. If he can replicate his form from the closing stages of the 2020-21 season at Euro 2020, he will make an even stronger case for himself.
#1 Cristiano Ronaldo - Portugal/Juventus
This could very well be Cristiano Ronaldo's last European competition. At 36, he is still going strong although he has lost a yard of pace. But there's no doubt that Ronaldo will be raring to give it his all in his fifth European finals.
Ronaldo won the Serie A Golden Boot in what was an extremely underwhelming season for Juventus. Ronaldo has a great supporting cast heading into Euro 2020. With the likes of Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva, Andre Silva and Diogo Jota operating around him, Ronaldo won't be starved of quality service.
Portugal have their work cut out for them after being drawn into the 'group of death' alongside France and Germany. Ronaldo is a man for the big occasion and he will absolutely relish the high-profile games that start in the group stages.
If he can live up to expectations and be the main man for Portugal, Ronaldo would stake a claim on a sixth record Ballon d'Or with which he can match Lionel Messi's haul.
