Ballon d’Or 2017: Award Ceremony Date

Kaka was the last player other than Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi to take home the Ballon d’Or, and the Brazilian playmaker won the coveted awarded way back in 2007.

For the last decade Messi and Ronaldo have monopolised the award, and it would be a huge surprise were that trend not to continue when the 2017 Ballon d’Or is handed out on Thursday in Paris.

Real Madrid’s Ronaldo is the front-runner to win football’s most coveted individual prize for the second year running after leading Los Blancos to La Liga and UEFA Champions League glory in the 2016-17 campaign.

Is Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi the favourite for the Ballon d’Or?

There are seven men from the Premier League in the running for this year’s award.

However, the winner is set to be out of old foes Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

The duo have dominated the award since 2008, with Barca star Messi winning five compared to the Portuguese forward’s four – the Real Madrid man winning it 12 months ago.

And after helping Los Blancos to the La Liga title and retaining the Champions League, Ronaldo is the favourite once again to claim the crown.

Here’s the shortlist in full for who is in the running this time:

However, Messi’s phenomenal form for Barcelona in the first part of the 2017-18 campaign, along with Ronaldo’s relatively slow start, could tip the scales in the Argentinian’s favour.

Neymar is third favourite to claim the gong, while Juventus’ veteran goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon and Tottenham Hotspur forward Harry Kane are also among the 30 nominees:

Who will host and present the Ballon d’Or award?