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Several members of Italy’s European Championship-winning side are also included as well as Borussia Dortmund goal machine Erling Haaland and PSG forward Kylian Mbappé. The favourite for the gong is Robert Lewandowski - who beat Gerd Müller’s long-standing record for goals in a single Bundesliga season on his way to the Golden Shoe and was expected to win last year - but Messi and Ronaldo cannot be ruled out, the Argentinean finally leading his country to a major title at the Copa América and the Portuguese establishing himself as the top scorer of all time at international level with 115 goals. Lewandowski favourite for 2021 Ballon d'Or Due to the manner of voting for the Ballon d’Or, which is carried out by football journalists, national team captains and managers, there are rarely any surprises when the bow ties are straightened and this year the shortlist contains few wildcards. This year, the field is considerably more open and it appears likely that a different player will get his hands on the coveted golden ball during Monday’s ceremony at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. More often than not, whichever player lost out was voted second, with the likes of Neymar, Antoine Griezmann, Xavi, Andrés Iniesta and – in a rare nod towards a gloveman – Manuel Neuer left to rue the hegemony of the Portuguese and Argentinean award magnets. For over a decade the Ballon d’Or was a straight shoot-out between the two most dominant players of their generation, Cristiano Ronaldo and Leo Messi, one of the other topping the podium every year from 2008 until 2018, when Luka Modric broke the duopoly.