The 2021 Ballon d'Or award ceremony is finally here, with the prestigious award having taken a COVID-19-enforced sabbatical in 2020, and the winner of the 2021 award will be announced on Monday evening at around 20:30 CET.
The favourites are already clear with Karim Benzema going up against Robert Lewandowski, Lionel Messi and N'Golo Kante, and it is the Argentine international who is the overwhelming choice with the bookmakers after his exceptional performances in the Copa America, finally lifting his first professional trophy in an Albiceleste shirt. This is the start of our 2021 Ballon d'Or live blog, with our updates from this highly anticipated awards ceremony following on from here. As always, the entries nearest the top are the most recent ones. Ceremony order The Ballon d'Or ceremony starts at 20:30 CET/19:30 GMT and we will have a few surprises in Paris, as we will have two new awards. Here is how the evening should pan out... - Ballon d'Or (winner and top 10) - Women's Ballon d'Or winner - Kopa Trophy - Yashin Trophy - Two new awards
Rumours suggest though that the two new awards will be Club of the Year and Striker of the Year. The Ballon d'Or is an hour away and the trophies which will be given out this evening are on their way to the Chatelet Theatre. Counting down the top 30 Whilst much of the attention is placed on just who will win the actual Ballon d'Or award, there is also a list of 30 players who have been ranked for their performances from 2021.
Cesar Azpilicueta and Luka Modric are joint-29th, with Gerard Moreno and Pedri rounding off the Spanish-based players inside the bottom nine.
Riyad Mahrez finished in 20th place, just behind Mason Mount, Simon Kjaer and Luis Suarez.
Neymar, Raheem Sterling and Leonardo Bonucci rounded out the top 14, whilst Giorgio Chiellini, Romelu Lukaku and Erling Haaland finished 13th to 11th respectively.
The ceremony is coming soon We are around 90 minutes from the Ballon d'Or ceremony and things are beginning to get tense in Paris. There are plenty of fans outside the Chatelet Theatre and they have a clear favourite to win the award. Ballon d'Or 2021 Ranking 11-19 We are getting closer to the top 10! 11 - Erling Haaland 12 - Romelu Lukaku 13 - Giorgio Chiellini 14 - Leonardo Bonucci 15 - Raheem Sterling 16 - Neymar 17 - Luis Suarez 18 - Simon Kjaer 19 - Mason Mount Two new awards! France Football are teasing us a little here with the announcement that there will be two new awards given out this evening. What could they be? Ballon d'Or 2021 Ranking 30-20 France Football have started the countdown of the best men's players in the world. 20 - Riyad Mahrez 21 - Lautaro Martinez and Bruno Fernandes 23 - Harry Kane 24 - Pedri 25 - Phil Foden 26 - Gerard Moreno, Nicolo Barella and Ruben Dias Equal 29 - Luka Modric and Cesar Azpilicueta Who is favourite for the Ballon d'Or? Despite Robert Lewandowski breaking Gerd Muller's 49-year-old record of scoring 40 goals in the Bundesliga, the Polish international isn't seen as the favourite to win the 2021 award.
Lionel Messi is considered to be the most likely to take home the trophy for a record seventh time, despite his final campaign with Barcelona not ending in the most auspicious of manners.
However, he would then finally deliver an international trophy to Argentine for the first time in his professional career, lifting the Copa America as international captain. How to watch the 2021 Ballon d'Or?
Viewers can tune in to watch the 2021 Ballon d'Or ceremony on L'Equipe's YouTube channel, though it will also be streamed on Eurosport and on the Eurosport app.
You can also stay up to date with what is happening in our live blog on MARCA English.
When is the 2021 Ballon d'Or ceremony? The 2021 Ballon d'Or ceremony is being held on Monday, November 29 in Paris' Chatelet Theatre.
The event will begin at 20:30 CET (19:30 GMT/13:30 CT) and it is expected to concluded at around 22:00 CET (21:00 GMT/15:00 CT).
The ranking will start to be unveiled at 16:30 CET (15:30 GMT/09:30 CT). Credit: Marca.com