Ballon d'Or 2021 Power Rankings

 Ballon d'Or 2021 Power Rankings: Kante powers ahead after Champions League masterclass

The awarding of the prize was cancelled in 2020 and the world's best players are again making their cases to claim the coveted individual honour

After being cancelled in 2020,  the Ballon d'Or is back, with the great and good of the football world again eyeing the biggest individual honour the game has to offer.

Although the prize will not be handed out until December, performances over the coming weeks will go a long way to deciding who will and won't be in contention to succeed 2019 winner Lionel Messi.

With the European domestic season over with and summer tournaments still to come, the world's best players are beginning to come to the fore.

According to the Goal ranks the runners and riders...

#20 Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain)

Last time: 20th

In 2021: Eight goals, six assists. Won Coupe de France & Trophee des Champions.

#19 Gerard Moreno (Villarreal)

Last time: NEW ENTRY

In 2021: 23 goals, 10 assists. Won Europa League.

#18 Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich)

Last time: 18th

In 2021: Six goals, 15 assists. Won Bundesliga & Club World Cup.

#17 Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund)

Last time: 17th

In 2021: 12 goals, 12 assists. Won DFB-Pokal.

#16 Luis Suarez (Atletico Madrid)

Last time: 16th

In 2021: 13 goals, two assists. Won La Liga.

#15 Harry Kane (Tottenham)

Last time: 15th

In 2021: 19 goals, five assists.

#14 Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United)

Last time: 13th

In 2021: 14 goals, nine assists.

#13 Mason Mount (Chelsea)

Last time: 19th

In 2021: Nine goals, three assists. Won Champions League.

#12 Ilkay Gundogan (Manchester City)

Last week: 10th

In 2021: 15 goals, six assists. Won Premier League & Carabao Cup.

#11 Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund)

Last time: 11th

In 2021: 24 goals, nine assists. Won DFB-Pokal.

#10 Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus)

Last time: 12th

In 2021: 21 goals, three assists. Won Coppa Italia & Supercoppa Italiana.

#9 Phil Foden (Manchester City)

Last time: 9th

In 2021: 11 goals, seven assists. Won Premier League & Carabao Cup.

#8 Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)

Last time: 8th

In 2021: 18 goals, four assists.

#7 Romelu Lukaku (Inter)

Last time: 6th

In 2021: 17 goals, seven assists. Won Serie A.

#6 Ruben Dias (Manchester City)

Last time: 4th

In 2021: One goal, 17 clean sheets. Won Premier League & Carabao Cup.

#5 Lionel Messi (Barcelona)

Last time: 5th

In 2021: 28 goals, nine assists. Won Copa del Rey.

#4 Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)

Last time: 2nd

In 2021: Nine goals, eight assists. Won Premier League & Carabao Cup.

#3 Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)

Last time: 3rd

In 2021: 31 goals, four assists. Won Bundesliga & Club World Cup.

#2 Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain)

Last time: 1st

In 2021: 28 goals, four assists. Won Coupe de France & Trophee des Champions.

#1 N'Golo Kante (Chelsea)

Last time: 7th

In 2021: One assist. Won Champions League.

Being named Man of the Match in both legs of a Champions League semi-final and the final is almost unheard of.

Doing it as a defensive-minded midfielder is close to impossible.

Kante specialises in producing the seemingly impossible, however, and combine those performances with another MOTM-winning display against Atletico Madrid in the last 16, and he will be regarded as the player of the tournament when all is said and done.

He now has a great chance of adding a European Championship winners' medal to his collection this summer, is one of the most popular players on the planet and, after Saturday, has turned up in the biggest of all games.

Can anyone stop Kante from claiming the biggest individual prize of them all?