Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have already fallen out of Ballon d’Or 2018 award race, if speculations are to be believed. According to several media reports, it is being said that the duo of Ronaldo and Messi are not in contention anymore and instead, it is Luka Modric (of Croatia), Raphael Varane (of France), and Kylian Mbappe (of France).

The following rumours have gone viral on different social media platforms, be it Twitter or Facebook. According to a report in Fox Sports Asia, and a journalist who has the Twitter handle @MamruthRFI, it is being reported that Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are not in the top 3 contenders of the prestigious Ballon d’Or 2018 award winner’s short-list! Ballon d’Or Awards 2018: Cristiano Ronaldo, Thibaut Courtois, Among Others Added in Nominee’s List; Lionel Messi Missing!

Here’s what Eric Mamruth said about Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi’s exclusion:

Reports are doing the rounds that the vote-counting process has begun, and the leaked results signs are not good for Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo. It is also being told that the vote-counting is only in its half-way mark.

Here’s another tweet on Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi being out of Ballon d’Or race:

Luka Modric has had a lot of fantastic moments, this year. The midfielder not only helped his, current club, Real Madrid lift their third title in three years, but also helped his national team, Croatia, in their road to FIFA World Cup 2016!

The other two top contenders in Ballon d’Or 2018 award are Kylian Mbappe and Raphael Varane. Both the French footballers have played exceptionally well for their respective clubs. And with 2018 FIFA World Cup winning trophy already there in their kitty, there are high chances that one of the two goes on to win the award!

The other superstars in the shortlisted list for Ballon d’Or 2018 award are Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo- and a host of other worthy players including Sergio Aguero, Alisson Becker, Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema, Edinson Cavani, Thibaut Courtois, Kevin De Bruyne, Roberto Firmino, Diego Godin, Antoine Griezmann, Eden Hazard, Isco, Harry Kane, N’Golo Kante, Hugo Lloris, Mario Mandzukic, Sadio Mane, Marcelo, Neymar, Paul Pogba, Ivan Rakitic, Sergio Ramos, Mohamed Salah, Luis Suarez, and Jan Oblak.

Both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have won the Ballon d’Or award for a record five times. If either of Luka Modric, Raphael Varane, or Kylian Mbappe wins the award this year, it will mark the end of an era where Ronaldo and Messi have been the only winners in the past 10 years.

Ballon d’Or 2018 award ceremony date is scheduled to take place on December 3, 2018. It will be interesting to see who wins the award this year. Stay tuned with LatestLY for all the latest updates on the prestigious Ballon d’Or Award.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 12, 2018 06:06 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).