As the 2020-21 season draws to a close in Europe's top five leagues, the UEFA and UEFA Champions League titles have been decided, and the trophies and Golden Boot winners have settled. However, there is a new question mark - who will win this year's Ballon d'Or (and International Footballer of the Year)?
Messi, Crow, Levan and Mbappe, the individual strength of these four stars is considered to be the top of the international scene, after all, they are all the golden boots of their respective leagues. However, they are all unattached to the Champions League title.
Chelsea won the Champions League, but they didn't have a stellar league record and didn't have any of the aforementioned top stars in their lineup. Perhaps there is one player who is good enough to match the top stars this season.
There is some truth in the argument that Kante deserves this honor, but it is not convincing enough. In the decade when Melo monopolized the Ballon d'Or, even without the Champions League trophy, they had won it, as Messi did in 2010 and Crow in 2013. Kante today, on the other hand, doesn't seem to be good enough to win the Ballon d'Or compared to Sneijder and Ribery back then, and Salah and Van Dijk later on.
But if France can win this Euro, Kante has a chance to compete for the Ballon d'Or. Modric, for example, won the international best in 2018, beating Messi and Cairo with a Champions League title and a runner-up finish in the International Cup.
With Poland, Portugal, and France out of the Euros, and England and Argentina doing well at the Copa America, Kante seems to have been forgotten. Currently, Messi and Kane are the favorites for the Ballon d'Or.
If England win the Euros, Kane, who has been outstanding on the offensive end of the field, will have a chance to compete for the Ballon d'Or with a Euro title and a Premier League Golden Boot.
If Messi leads Argentina to win the Copa America, then Messi will win the Ballon d'Or almost uncontested with a Copa America title and a La Liga Golden Boot.
But if England hadn't won the Euros and Argentina hadn't won the Copa America, who would have won the Ballon d'Or? If Italy had won the Euros, Chelsea teammate Jorginho would have been the favorite.
In the semi-finals of the Europa League, Italy played against Spain, and although their overall strength was not as good as that of Belgium, Italy's performance was far superior. In the match, Chiesa Jr. gave Italy the lead, but was then equalized by Spain. After extra time, both sides had nothing to show for it, and the match went into a penalty shootout. In the end, Italy won on penalties and made it to the final.
In addition to scoring the winning penalty, Jorginho also contributed seven interceptions, setting a record for interceptions in a single competition at this year's Europa League.
In an interview before the match, Sarri, who coached Jorginho, said, "If he wins the Europa League, it's clear that he's going to be a Ballon d'Or winner."
