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Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo had always dominated Ballor d'or in the last ten years but not this time. According to Eric Mamruth(via Foxsports), Messi and Ronaldo are out of the top three race in the halfway mark of counting votes.
The top three in the race are Luka Modric in the first place, followed by Raphael Varane in the second place and Kylian Mbappe in second and third respectively.
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Ballon d'Or or Golden Ball is an annual football award presented by French weekly magazine France Football.
In 2010, it was merged with FIFA World Player of the Year and was known as FIFA Ballon d'Or. However, the partnership ended in 2016 in which it goes back to where it started as Ballon d'Or.
This year the French magazine released the top 30 nominees for the award in October which brings many speculations from the fans and players to pick their favourite player to carry home the prestigious award.
The players who feature on the list are Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Isco, Harry Kane, N’Golo Kante, Hugo Lloris, Mario Mandzukic, Sadio Mane, Sergio Aguero, Alisson Becker, Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema, Edinson Cavani, Marcelo, Kylian Mbappe, Luka Modric, Neymar, Paul Pogba, Ivan Rakitic,Sergio Ramos, Mohamed Salah, Luis Suarez, Jan Oblak, Raphael Varane,Thibaut Courtois, Kevin De Bruyne, Roberto Firmino, Diego Godin, Antoine Griezmann and Eden Hazard.
However after the shocking news, Luka Modric is considered to be the favorite players to win the award after his performance in the recently concluded World Cup leading Croatia to the second place, and as an excellent midfielder for Real Madrid in their Champions League triumph.
The Croatian also has won the Golden Ball at the World Cup, UEFA Best Player of the Year award and The Best FIFA Men's Player Award this year so far.
Meanwhile, Mbappe and Varane who recently won the World Cup with France and enjoyed stunning seasons with their clubs are amongst the other two favorites to win the award.
Fans have reacted at the shocking news of Ronaldo and Messi not in the top three in the halfway of counting votes.
