2018 Ballon d’Or: Ronaldo, Messi miss out of ‘three-man final shortlist’

Juventus forward, Cristiano Ronaldo and Barcelona captain, Lionel Messi, will both miss out on this year’s Ballon d’Or award.

This claim was made by respected journalist, Eric Macruth, who works for French radio station, RFI.

Recall that Ronaldo and Messi were shortlisted for the Europe topflight individual prize last month.

Ronaldo and Messi have dominated the award for ten years now.

The pair had won an incredible five awards each, with Ronaldo equalling Messi’s tally last year.

According to Express UK, Macruth disclosed that Real Madrid midfielder, Luka Modric will win the 2018 Ballon d’ Or, while Real Madrid defender, Raphael Varane and Paris Saint-Germain forward, Kylian Mbappe will be among the three-man final shortlist ahead of Ronaldo and Messi.

“Exclusive #BallondOr: After counting half the votes, the head trio is as follows: 1) Modric 2) @raphaelvarane 3 @KMbappe. @xbarretfoot @RFIRadioFoot Info @RFIsports,” Macruth tweeted.

The 2018 Ballon d’ Or award will take place on 3rd December, 2018.