The 2021 Ballon d'Or will be announced on Monday night with the favourites including Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowski, Karim Benzema, among many other stars of the game.
One of the surprisingly absent names from the conversation is Cristiano Ronaldo, who has been an ever-present in the top three votes over the past decade. Still, it might be a sign that his monopoly alongside Messi on the top two is ending, albeit at the age of 36.
Ronaldo first win of the Ballon d'Or came while he was at his first spell at Manchester United. Since then, no player at Old Trafford has come close to achieving the award, though that might not have been helped by the tumultuous times at the club following the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson.
Ralf Rangnick's appointment ushers in a new direction after their struggles under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer became too hard to ignore. Rangnick will have a talented squad at his disposal, and there is a chance under his coaching and guidance that a few United players might have a chance of winning the coveted award.
Here are the three players that will have the best chance of winning the Ballon d'Or if Rangnick is thriving at the club:
Jadon Sancho
Despite his poor start to the season, Sancho can only be described as a potential world-class talent if he hasn't reached that level already.
Over the past three seasons, he has registered double figures in goals and assists across all competition, a feat that only Messi in the modern-day could boast. In the final third, he is one of the deadliest players in the world, and at 21, he has many years ahead to improve even further.
He started to find his footing this season, having two goals in the last two games, and under Rangnick, he will likely be an important player as he has all the attributes the German will be looking for, plus an understanding of the style of football he will want to play.
This is the one that I am most sure about as I believe he is truly a talent, and in the future, he will get the recognition he deserves for it.
Bruno Fernandes
The only player who has spent the whole year at United to be nominated this time around, Fernandes truly is one of, if not the best, players at United. However, one of the issues he has found while at the club is that he carries the team's creative weight, and he is under pressure to try and force chances when United are unable to break the lines.
This season has been more evident as Fernandes has played a deeper role, more focused on creating for his forward line. However, the same prevalent issues have caused him to be more wasteful and less effective (even if the strikers could be more clinical at times).
The hope is that Rangnick's system will add efficiency and opportunity to Fernandes' game and convert what has been dubbed as 'hero ball' into a more refined and reliable form of chance creation for his strikers. If he does that and adds more goals back to his game, there is a strong chance that he will enter into the debate for Ballon d'Or in the future.
Cristiano Ronaldo
A very short-term chance of this happening, but given the global appeal of Ronaldo, if Rangnick was to come in and provide a Tuchel like bounces, securing silverware which maybe includes the Champions League, then Ronaldo would likely re-enter the debate for the Ballon d'Or next year.
There are a lot of variables; for example, I don't think this happens if Portugal fails to qualify for the World Cup, and there is also the looming question of whether Rangnick will favour Ronaldo in his squad. Still, if things fall into place, it could result in one last hurrah and sixth Ballon d'Or for the Portuguese forward.
Who do you think will improve the most under Ralf Rangnick? Follow our United On My Mind writer Casey Evans on Twitter and get involved in the discussion in the comment section below.
