Kylian Mbappe, who finished in fourth place in last year's Ballon d'Or ranking, has revealed his favourite to lift this year's Golden Ball, but snubbed Cristiano Ronaldo.
Click through the mini-gallery above to see the top five in last year's final Ballon d'Or ranking.
The 20-year-old is once again among the final nominees for the award after finishing in the top five in 2018.
The 2019 Golden Ball winner will be announced on Monday, 2 December, and last year's winner Luka Modric is not on the final shortlist this time around.
Mbappe was recently asked who his favourite for the 2019 prize is, and he named Lionel Messi, who ended up behind him in fifth place last time around, ahead of fellow five-time winner Ronaldo, who was famously said to be the young Frenchman's idol when he was growing up.
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"In individual terms, he (Messi) was the best this year," Mbappe told Der Spiegel.
Messi was named FIFA's The Best Men's Player earlier this year, while Virgil van Dijk won the UEFA Player of the Year award.
Some, though, believe Ronaldo, who finished in second place in 2018, is the favourite for this year's Ballon d'Or, which – unlike the other two accolades – runs along with the calendar year after he won two trophies with Juventus and captained Portugal to victory in the inaugural UEFA Nations League in 2019.
The shortlist was put together by France Football's editorial team before a jury of 180 international journalists voted for their favourite, choosing their five best players and awarding them six, four, three, two and one point, respectively.
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The Ballon d'Or rewards performances over the course of the calendar year, and is based on the following main criteria: 1) individual and collective performances; 2) player's class (talent and fair play); and 3) player's career.
Who do you think will win this year's Ballon d'Or? Have your say in the comments section below.
