Ballon d’Or

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      Lewandowski 3/1 favourite to win 2020 Ballon d’Or amid Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo dominance after record season

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      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.

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      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 More

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      Ex-Man Utd and Arsenal star Van Persie snubs Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo from three Ballon d’Or 2020 nominations

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      NEITHER Lionel Messi nor Cristiano Ronaldo made the cut in Robin van Persie’s 2020 Ballon d’Or ranking.
      The Dutchman posted his top three footballers of the year online ahead of the current season coming to a close.

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      Cristiano Ronaldo, 35, did not make the cut for van PersieCredit: AFP or licensors

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      The former striker, 36, felt Robert Lewandowski was more deserving of the award
      With the nominations usually released in November, the business end of the campaign is often the best time for players to stake their claim.
      For ex-Manchester United and Arsenal hero Van Persie, the top gong is currently heading in Robert Lewandowski’s direction.
      A whopping 21 goals since the turn of the year have helped Bayern Munich to another domestic double and few would bet against the Bavarians going far in August’s Champions League showdown.
      Bagging a goal a game is no mean feat for any striker but the Pole’s stunning 51 strikes in 41 games this season place him among the favourites for the 2020 honour.

      Coming in at second place for RVP is Kevin De Bruyne, ahead of Liverpool’s Sadio Mane.
      Manchester City have experienced a slight decline this season after two irrepressible years at the top of the Premier League but the Belgian playmaker has maintained his fantastic standards.
      And after Virgil van Dijk finished as runner-up in 2019, the Dutchman fancies Mane to make the podium this time around following Liverpool’s first league title in 30 years.
      As ever, the case for Ronaldo and Messi is a strong one.

      Juventus are heading for yet another Scudetto with the Portuguese forward’s difficult start to the campaign turning around to a stunning streak of 16 goals in 13 Serie A appearances this calendar year.
      Messi’s form over the past seven months may not be enough to drag an inconsistent Barcelona to a third-straight LaLiga crown but the 33-year-old’s 700th career goal arrived last month.
      A 2020 tally of 13 goals and 15 assists keeps the Argentine in the race for a seventh Ballon d’Or but the upcoming Champions League mini-tournament may well decide exactly who bags this particular trophy come December.

      Robin van Persie reveals brutal Man Utd exit after ‘ruthless’ Van Gaal sat striker down and told him ‘you have to go’ More

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      Top 10 Ballon d’Or winners of Premier League era ranked by Shearer and Wright with Ronaldinho just SIXTH

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      WITH no live sport on the TV to get our teeth into, sporting debates, fictional dream teams and classic throwback matches have been the order of the day. From the decade-long Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo debate to Jamie Carragher’s Best XI challenges, people have been finding ways to cure the lockdown blues. Messi and […] More

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      Brazil’s legendary World Cup-winning right-back Cafu tips Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold for Ballon d’Or glory

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      TRENT ALEXANDER-ARNOLD could win the Ballon d’Or one day – according to Brazil legend Cafu. The legendary World Cup winning right-back sees some some of his own traits in the Liverpool man and reckons that could see him bag the prestigious gong sooner rather than later. Trent Alexander-Arnold could win the Ballon d’Or one day, […] More

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      Cristiano Ronaldo ‘regrets Juventus transfer and thinks he’d have more Ballons d’Or if he stayed at Real Madrid’

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      CRISTIANO RONALDO has conceded in private that leaving Real Madrid for Juventus was a mistake, according to reports. The £88million transfer in July 2018 the winger speak of a “new challenge” as he looked to conquer Italy the same way he had Spain and England. Ronaldo is said to be certain the 22018 Ballon d’Or […] More

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      Cristiano Ronaldo ‘tells pals he regrets Juventus transfer and thinks he’d have more Ballons d’Or if he stayed at Real’

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      CRISTIANO RONALDO has conceded in private that leaving Real Madrid for Juventus was the wrong move, according to reports. The £88million transfer in July of last year saw the winger speak of a “new challenge” as he looked to conquer Italy the same way he had Spain and England. Ronaldo is said to be certain […] More

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      Ballon d’Or winner Megan Rapinoe calls out Lionel Messi, Ronaldo and Ibrahimovic for not speaking out against sexism

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      BALLON D’OR winner Megan Rapinoe has called out Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic for not speaking out against sexism. The American star, 34, believes the top male footballers are not using their global status and influence to address issues that still exist in sport and wider society. Megan Rapinoe hit out at the […] More

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      Luka Modric slams ex-Real Madrid team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo for snubbing Ballon d’Or awards after Lionel Messi win

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      REAL MADRID ace Luka Modric has appeared to take a sly dig at former team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo for lacking “respect” by not showing up to the Ballon d’Or ceremony. The 34-year-old made the comments after Lionel Messi won his sixth Ballon d’Or on Monday – as he beat Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk by just […] More