Kane, Yamal and Mbappé lead open Ballon d’Or race
publishers 15articles 23first reported 22 Oct, 04:40 UTCdeveloping since 22 Oct · 11 editions
Harry Kane, Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappé are among the leading contenders for the men’s Ballon d’Or, which will be awarded in London on Monday. The 70th edition of the France Football prize is being held in England for the first time, in recognition of inaugural winner Stanley Matthews.
Kane enters the ceremony after scoring 73 goals in 65 games for Bayern Munich and England last season. He helped Bayern win a German league and cup double and led England to the World Cup semifinals. AFP described him as the favorite, while BBC Sport said bookmakers had Kane and Yamal closely matched.
Yamal, who finished second to Ousmane Dembélé last year, won La Liga with Barcelona and the World Cup with Spain. His club season ended early because of a hamstring injury, and Barcelona teammates Rodri and Pau Cubarsí received the World Cup’s player and young player awards.
Mbappé was the leading scorer in La Liga, the Champions League and the World Cup, although Real Madrid and France did not win those competitions. His 10 World Cup goals raised his career total to a tournament-record 22.
Lionel Messi and Paris Saint-Germain players including Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Dembélé, Vitinha and Fabián Ruiz have also been cited as contenders. The winner is chosen by journalists representing the top 100 nations in FIFA’s rankings, with each voter ranking 10 players from a 30-man shortlist.
HOW THIS STORY WAS MADE
Written from 8 articles, 2 with the publisher's own text; 7 independent newsrooms once syndicated copies count as one; this version written 108 h after the record first saw the story; the editor kept it as written.
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