The candidates to win the 2021 Ballon d'Or: among doubts and uncertainties, Mbappè stands out.

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The Ballon d'Or has historically been one of the most coveted trophies for footballers.

And in the last decade there have been two players who have dominated the scene: Lionel Messi (always with Barcelona, but with an uncertain future) and Cristiano Ronaldo (yesterday with Real Madrid and today with Juventus).

The decline of both Catalans and Juventus, both eliminated in the Champions League, and the lack of a figure at Real Madrid (still in the race) that brings praise, shows a rather uncertain scenario at the time of the final decision.

We know that the Champions League is a determining factor when it comes to choosing the candidates. As is the Football World Cup or the Eurocup when they are played.

In 2020 only the coronavirus pandemic prevented Robert Lewandowski from winning the prestigious golden award.

The main candidates.

With Messi and Ronaldo out of the running (unless their careers convince the organizers and sponsors of the prestigious event to include them), the fight for the triumph is fierce. There is no favorite.

Considering the last performances and their present (in some cases) in Champions League we could say that the podium of candidates would be limited to: Kylian Mbappè of PSG, Erling Haaland of Borussia Dortmund (eliminated from the Champions League) and Robert Lewandowski (when it comes to decisions may weigh the fact of not having given him the award last year).

Kylian Mbappè is the main candidate.

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The Paris Saint-Germain striker has delivered two outstanding performances in the Champions League with a hat trick at Camp Nou against Barcelona and a brace at the Allianz Arena against Bayern Munich.

Two of the potential candidates. No less. Five goals in total. Favorite to win the Europa with France this year.

Erling Haaland.

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Is the new star of the European soccer firmament.

The Norwegian has the disadvantage that his team, Borussia Dortmund, has already been eliminated from the Champions League and that his country of origin, Norway, has little representation in the European soccer concert of nations.

Robert Lewandowski.

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Is the third in discord. Although he does not have great technical skills (like Haaland), he is a real goal machine.

He has lost some chances with Bayern's elimination at the hands of PSG. And that gain has obviously been picked up by Mbappè, at the moment the number one candidate.

We will see how much Europe and the Copa America will contribute to the resurgence of some candidates. But for now, the die seems to be cast.

The other candidates (Neymar, De Bruyne, Suarez) do not seem to have the consensus to reach the podium.

And other figures do not appear on the horizon.