BAYERN MUNICH hero Robert Lewandowski is the 3/1 favourite to win the Ballon d’Or.
Record six-time winner Lionel Messi is second on the list at 4/1 – despite Barcelona’s struggles this season.
No one in Europe has been hotter in front of goal than Bayern striker Lewandowski this seasonCredit: EPA
The first Premier League player to feature is Manchester City playmaker Kevin De Bruyne.
The Belgian midfielder is 9/2 while Cristiano Ronaldo, who has won football’s top individual honour five times, is fourth on 5/1.
Striker Lewandowski, 31, scored an amazing 34 goals in 31 league appearances for Bundesliga champions Bayern this season.
He also registered four assists – but it is in the Champions League where he has really set himself apart.
The Poland forward – tipped by Robin Van Persie to win the award – has 11 goals in Europe.
Either Messi or Ronaldo has been top scorer in the UCL for the past 12 seasons.
But they trail Lewandowski by miles, having scored just two each this campaign.
Lewandowski is also best placed to finish top scorer in Europe’s big five leagues this season.
His 34 in Bundesliga is currently five clear of Lazio’s Ciro Immobile.
New Chelsea signing Timo Werner and Ronaldo are both next on 28.
It is a huge break in the betting until the next stars.
Despite helping Liverpool end their 30-year wait to win the league, Sadio Mane is as big as 12/1 to win the Ballon d’Or.
Anfield team-mates Mo Salah and Virgil Van Dijk are 16/1 – the same as Manchester City winger Raheem Sterling.
Paris Saint-Germain duo Kylian Mbappe and Neymar – who helped the Parc des Princes side to a seventh league title in eight years – are 20/1 and 25/1 respectively.
Below them, Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes is 33/1, the same as Dortmund goal machine Erling Haaland.
England team-mates Jadon Sancho and Harry Kane are both 50/1.
There is no room for Arsenal’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on the list of top contenders, despite his battle with Leicester’s Jamie Vardy for the Premier League Golden Boot.
Messi and Ronaldo have totally dominated the Ballon d’Or in recent years.
It was won by one of the pair every year from 2008 until 2018, when Ronaldo’s former Real Madrid team-mate Luka Modric was voted winner.
Lewandowski has to push shy Alphonso Davies over to Bayern Munich fans as they chant his name after Chelsea win
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
