Ballon d'Or: Who are Kylian Mbappe & Luka Modric's favourites to clinch the coveted award?

With the 2021 Ballon d'Or 30 man shortlist being announced a few weeks back, everyone's favourite question has been doing the rounds amongst the players, 'Who's the favourite to win the 2021 Ballon d'Or award?'. Recently, Kylian Mbappe was asked about his favourites to win the prestigious award and his answer was that his fellow teammate Lionel Messi deserves to.

Speaking after PSG's 3-2 win over RB Leipzig where Mbappe let Messi take a spot-kick, the French forward said: "Why did I give the penalty to Messi? That’s what teammates do," Mbappe told RMC Sport. "He’s the best player in the world. He let me take the second penalty. Unfortunately, I missed (it). It’s a privilege to play with him, and it would be fully deserved if he won the Ballon d’Or."

Luka Modric's favourite to win the 2021 Ballon d'Or

A Ballon d'Or winner himself, Luka Modric was quizzed on who he thought should win the award and he replied by saying that his fellow Real Madrid teammate Karim Benzema deserved it. Speaking at a press conference after the Blancos thrashed Shakhtar Donetsk 5-0, Modric said: "We will see. There are various candidates that could win it. For me, Karim is one of them. I hope that he wins it because he deserves it for how he has played this year and his trajectory. Above all, these recent years. He has always been at the top level. And he has now won a title with France, which is important in these awards. I hope that he wins because he deserves it."

The 2021 Ballon d’Or 30-man shortlist

Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea)

Nicolo Barella (Inter Milan)

Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)

Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus)

Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)

Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus)

Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United/Juventus)

Ruben Dias (Manchester City)

Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain)

Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United)

Phil Foden (Manchester City)

Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund)

Jorginho (Chelsea)

Harry Kane (Tottenham)

N’Golo Kante (Chelsea)

Simon Kjaer (AC Milan)

Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)

Romelu Lukaku (Chelsea/Inter Milan)

Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City)

Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan)

Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain)

Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain/Barcelona)

Luka Modric (Real Madrid)

Gerard Moreno (Villarreal)

Mason Mount (Chelsea)

Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain)

Pedri (Barcelona)

Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)

Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)

Luis Suarez (Atletico Madrid)

(Image: AP)