Ballon d’Or Odds for 2018
The 2018 Ballon d’Or will be awarded in December of this year. For many young football fans, they will only have seen two players receive the award, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. However, with the 2018 World Cup in full swing, we could see a new name added to the roll of honour this year.
Ballon d’Or trophy
Ronaldo Remains Favourite
One glance at the Ballon d’Or 2018 odds at Betfair show Ronaldo remains the bookmaker’s favourite to win a record sixth Ballon d’Or title. It would be a huge moment for the Portuguese as he would move one clear of Messi and could use that fact in his claim as the best player we have ever seen.
Ronaldo is available at just 1/5 with Betfair to be crowned the Ballon d’Or winner in 2018.
As mentioned above, Messi has been Ronaldo’s biggest competitor for the title in recent years but the Argentina joined Ronaldo by exiting the World Cup at the Round of 16 stage. Messi won the 2017/18 La Liga title with Barcelona and finished top scorer in the Spanish league with 34 goals but this seems to have been dwarfed by Ronaldo winning the Champions League and being the competitions top scorer.
The result is Messi out at 8/1 to win the 2018 Ballon d’Or, which makes Ronaldo the huge favourite.
Kane Challenging Messi
However, the Ballon d’Or odds have thrown up some interesting names and just below Messi in the betting is Harry Kane.
The Spurs striker enjoyed another good campaign with his club but his exploits at the 2018 World Cup have made him a genuine Ballon d’Or contender this year. Kane had 6 goals to his name following the quarter-final and would become the first man since Bobby Moore in 1966 to lift the World Cup for England should they win it.
If England do win the World Cup, expect to see Kane’s Ballon d’Or odds come tumbling down from their current position at 10/1.
Salah in Contention
Kane did not finish as the Premier League’s top scorer last season thanks to the arrival of Mohamed Salah. The Egyptian made a sensational impact at Liverpool following his move from Roma and led the club to the Champions League final plus finished as the top goal scorer in the Premier League, breaking records in the process.
Salah did not enjoy a great World Cup with Egypt but finished with more goals than Lionel Messi having netted against Saudi Arabia and Russia. Salah is 20/1 with Betfair to win the 2018 Ballon d’Or.
Players to Watch
The Ballon d’Or odds list includes Kevin De Bruyne at 16/1, Kylian Mbappe at 16/1, Luka Modric at 16/1, Eden Hazard at 20/1 and Neymar at 20/1. The final name in that list was considered a big favourite earlier in the year but injury and his theatrics at the World Cup have done Neymar little favour.
However, with Belgium, France and Croatia reaching the semi-final of the World Cup, one player from the group of De Bruyne, Mbappe, Modric and Hazard could yet emerge from the pack.
Continue to follow the Ballon d’Or odds to see which players can challenge Ronaldo for the top individual football award on the planet.