Chelsea pair Jorginho and N’Golo Kante will hope to rival the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi as the nominees for the 2021 Ballon d’Or are revealed.
The award, which is now presented by France Football, is set to be handed to the male footballer who has made the most outstanding contributions throughout the calendar year both on a personal and team basis.
There have already been calls for a number of Chelsea players to at least be nominated for the award, with the Blues having claimed the Champions League and UEFA Super Cup under Thomas Tuchel.
Meanwhile, having also played a key role in Italy winning the Euro 2020 crown, Blues midfielder Jorginho has understandably received a considerable amount of backing.
It might well be tough though for a Chelsea player to get their hands on the award.
Ronaldo and Messi have had a near-duopoly on the award since 2008 - Messi claiming six trophies, with Ronaldo close behind on five.
The only man to have broken that run was Luka Modric in 2018 as he led Croatia to the World Cup final.
With that in mind, football.london takes a look at the current favourites to see if the Chelsea duo could be in with a chance - odds courtesy of Sky Bet.
Lionel Messi - 1/2
As it stands, it is the Argentine who is the most-fancied of the current crop of players. Despite a disappointing domestic campaign, the 34-year-old still rounded off his season with 38 goals in all competitions for Barcelona.
He then enjoyed a wonderful summer as he lifted his first ever title with the Argentine national team with the Copa America.
Following his shock transfer to Paris Saint-Germain, he has endured a slow start but did open his account for the French giants with a wonderful strike against Manchester City in the Champions League.
Robert Lewandowski - 5/1
Arguably unfortunate to miss out on the award last year, the Pole’s goalscoring numbers have only improved since then.
He netted 48 times in all competitions last season - breaking Gerd Muller’s Bundesliga goalscoring record for a single campaign in the process - and spearheaded Bayern to yet another German crown.
Jorginho - 6/1
The Italian has enjoyed a spectacular year under Thomas Tuchel. He was a key part of the Chelsea side to win the club’s second Champions League against Manchester City, whilst also contributing to their UEFA Super Cup win.
Jorginho also claimed victory in the summer as Italy ran out victors against England in the Euro 2020 final.
Kevin de Bruyne - 12/1
Perennially in the conversation for the best midfielder in the world, the Belgian has enjoyed an extremely positive 2021.
He was part of yet another Premier League winning side - his third since he joined Manchester City - whilst also managing to reach the Champions League final. His performances in the latter in particular were fantastic.
N’Golo Kante - 12/1
A hugely different midfielder to de Bruyne but equally as pivotal, it is hard to justify leaving the Frenchman out of Chelsea’s best XI.
He is without a doubt one of the best defensive midfielders in world football. He was unfortunate to miss out on the Ballon d’Or as France won the World Cup in 2018 but with another glut of trophies this time around, the former Leicester City man has a great chance.
Cristiano Ronaldo - 16/1
Among the top three players in the world for each of the last nine seasons, it is certainly a shock to see Ronaldo this low.
He still had a fantastic year in front of goal, striking on 36 occasions. He has started life back at Manchester United in the best way with five goals in six games.
However, Juventus’ poor showing last season might count against him.
