Ballon d'Or 2021 Odds: Who Will Win the Ballon d'Or in 2021?

Paris Sain-Germain striker Kylian Mbappe is the favourite to win the Ballon d’Or. The 22-year-old World Cup winner made it to the Champions League final last season and will be looking to go one further this campaign with PSG, especially after his side’s 4-1 demolition of Barcelona at the Nou Camp in the round of 32 first leg.

The France international will most likely have to be in a team that is capable of winning every trophy that they enter, and PSG fits the bill, as despite trailing Lille and Lyon in their domestic league, they are still favourites to win Ligue 1 as well as the Coupe De France.

If Mbappe carries on the impressive form that has seen him contribute to 30 goals in 30 games in all competitions so far this season into Euro 2021, then he also has the chance to lead France to their first Euros win since 2000 which would almost guarantee him the Ballon d’Or.

Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski is next on the list, and is the current holder of the FIFA Best Men’s Player of the Year award in 2020, having scored 55 goals in 47 matches as Bayern went on to win the treble.

So far this season, the Polish striker has 32 goals in 31 appearances and is the top scorer in the Bundesliga with 26 goals, eight ahead of second-highest goalscorer Andre Silva of Eintracht Frankfurt.

Despite Bayern not being able to win the DFB Pokal as they suffered a shock defeat to Holstein Kiel in the second round, they are on course to win the Bundesliga once again having won the FIFA Club World Cup in Qatar.

If Lewandowski is to stand a chance of winning the Ballon d’Or for the first time then you feel as though he must win the Champions League again with Bayern, as it is unlikely that Poland will go far in the Euros compared to those that the majority of candidates in this list play for.

Five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo is the third favourite at present, due to the sheer number of goals that he has scored with Juventus this campaign, as he has managed 25 goals in 28 matches despite the club from Turin struggling to keep pace in their domestic league.

Juventus are still in the Champions League, but trail 2-1 to Porto going into the second leg of their round of 16 tie. It is well known that whoever wins Europe’s biggest club competition plays a decisive factor in the awarding of the Ballon d’Or, however, a potential opening for the Portuguese man could be the Euros too, as his country are one of the favourites going into it due to winning it in 2016 against France, as well as beating Holland in the Nations League final in 2019.

Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes is next on the list due to his sensational form at Old Trafford which looks as though it might’ve sparked a renaissance of the Red Devils.

Having crashed out of the Champions League in the group stages, United are currently in the Europa League where they are almost certainties to qualify for the round of 16 having beaten Real Sociedad 4-0 in Turin.

The former Sporting Lisbon man will realistically have to yet again be an inspiration on the pitch for Manchester United and win the Europa League, and possibly win the Euros to stand a chance of getting his hands on the Ballon d’Or whilst generating similar numbers to that which he has done so far this season, as the 26-year-old has 35 goal contributions in 37 appearances across all competitions.

Belgium international Kevin De Bruyne is also a player to take into high consideration when talking about potential Ballon d’Or winners, as the 29-year-old has managed 18 goal contributions in 25 matches this season, and almost looks a certainty to win the Premier League this campaign with Manchester City.

At present City are the bookie’s favourites to win the Champions League, which if this was to happen and the Citizens were to win Europe’s biggest competition, it would put the Belgian up there as the favourite to win the award if he was to inspire his club to their first Champions League triumph.

With Belgium being tipped to go far in Euro 2021, the City man stands a great chance of becoming the 2021 Ballon d’Or winner.

Erling Haaland has been in sensational form this season for Borussia Dortmund, having scored 27 goals in 25 games, although the reasonings for his higher odds are that he may have little to show for his goals in terms of silverware come the end of the season.

At present Dortmund are sixth in the Bundesliga and struggling to qualify for next season’s Champions League, and are outsiders to win this campaign’s competition.

Dortmund are one of the favourites to win the DFB Pokal due to Bayern’s elimination as mentioned above which is the Black and Yellows’ best chance of a trophy this season. Unfortunately, Haaland won’t be representing Norway at the Euros this summer as they failed to qualify for the tournament.

Last on this list is Lionel Messi, the Barcelona man finds himself in a similar situation to Haaland, despite having 29 goal contributions in 30 matches across all competitions this season.

Barcelona’s struggles haven’t stopped Messi from performing, although it looks unlikely that he will inspire Barca to a La Liga title or Champions League crown, as they are eight points adrift of Atletico Madrid who currently sit at the top of Spain’s top flight.

The Camp Nou club were also beaten 4-1 at home by PSG in the Champions League as mentioned above, meaning that barring a miracle they will not make it to the quarter-finals of the competition.

Messi will be relying on a turn of fortunes for his club side, as they are also 2-0 down on aggregate in the Copa del Rey semi-finals to Sevilla. The 33-year-old’s saving grace could be the goal contributions that he generates, as well as his overall popularity in the game having previously won six Ballon d’Ors.