Chelsea midfielder N'Golo Kante should win the Ballon d'Or this year because of his sensational performances.
That's according to former Blues right-back Glen Johnson and Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba.
Kante played a crucial role in the west London club securing their second-ever Champions League trophy with big performances in the latter stages of the competition against the stronger teams.
That includes in the final against Manchester City, where the France international read the game perfectly to help Thomas Tuchel 's side keep control against the Premier League champions.
With that Champions League victory, and his excellent personal displays, Kante is now a leading contender to win this year's Ballon d'Or award.
According to Johnson and Pogba, the French midfielder should be the man to claim the famous the Golden Ball.
Johnson told bettingodds.com : “I’d probably say N’Golo Kanté. You don’t often see holding midfielders win the trophy. It’s normally strikers because they do the glossy bit, don’t they? But I’m going to go with Kanté.
“None of these teams can perform if you don’t have a Kanté. Unless you’ve got that anchor, like a Lucas Leiva, you have to have that sort of player to perform.
"But when the strikers go forward and perform, they forget about Kanté. They forget that he’s just won the ball back on the edge of the box and driven it 30 yards.
"I’d like to see a holding midfielder get it. It’s like the only people that appreciate that role are the players themselves.”
Pogba also said to Eurosport in June: “What I would like to say to the whole world is that the ‘NG’ we have seen in recent months has always been the same.
“We talk a lot about his performances but he has always been as good as ever.
“There was no Cristiano and Messi in the semi-final, so it's good to see the performances of the midfielders or even the defenders.
“I said a long time ago that it would be appropriate, if Chelsea won, for him to win the Ballon d'Or. It would be deserved too."
Kante was on the pitch for 45 minutes in Chelsea's pre-season friendly clash with Tottenham on Wednesday evening and the 30-year-old played a huge part in the Blues' opening goal against their London rivals.
The Frenchman, in typical style, won the ball back, dispossessing Lucas Moura and setting up Hakim Ziyech, who struck the ball past Pierluigi Gollina from 25 yards out.
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