The era of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi is definitely over. After almost 15 years of absolute domination of these two, the time has come for some new names to appear on the biggest stage, and that should confirm this year’s selection for Ballon d’Or.As announced earlier, the France Football poll will be conducted with drastically changed rules, which should essentially mean highlighting the individual performance, while the result of the team would remain in the shadows and would only serve if, say, the two candidates are tied.We want justice! And we should get it the next time Ballon D’Or is awarded – maybeStats and numbers as the main parameter confirm that football is becoming a hostage of statistics. However, in the last few decades, we witnessed some severe debates regarding nominees and the winners of the most important individual award in football. France Football officially announced today that this year’s Ballon d’Or will be awarded on October 17 in Paris, reminding that the new rules imply a different “accounting period”. The French newspaper reminds the performance from the upcoming World Cup in Qatar will not be taken into account.Also, 170 journalists from all over the world have had the right to vote so far, while that number has been significantly reduced since this year – many countries “with a lack of football culture and tradition” have lost the right to vote, as organizers explained a few months ago!?Mendy: ‘Being an African did me a disservice for Ballon d’Or’The shortened list of candidates should be published on August 12, but as all the strongest leagues are over, and taking into account the new rules, it is practically clear which five or six names will be on that list.Ballon d’or trophy race: Mbappe, Benzema of someone else?As per stats, the best player of the season is Kyllian Mbappe. However, his compatriot and Real Madrid player Karim Benzema is the absolute favourite of the public. The experienced striker is playing the football of his life. He almost dragged Real Madrid to the Champions League final by himself and scored ten goals only in the knockout phase. It will be exciting to see if that is enough to overpower the slightly better numbers of his younger colleague from the national team.WED: 03.30: (1.22) PALMEIRAS (7.25) D. TACHIRA (12.0)Especially if he decides the UCL final in Paris and pushes Real Madrid to a new European crown …Congratulations to everyone around, but no one except for Karim deserves it, indeed.
