Take a look at the latest odds for the Golden Ball as the World Cup reaches the knockout rounds.
Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe have each landed haymakers in the World Cup group stages, with the Argentine scoring a hat-trick in his first game, a brace in his second and coming off the bench against Jordan to net a sixth goal of the tournament, and he's edging Mbappe at the top of the market.
The Real Madrid man has also shone in his three appearances, scoring braces against Senegal and Iraq before laying on two assists against Norway.
Michael Olise on the back of an outstanding season for Bayern has also impressed for the national team, serving as the team's primary creative outlet and providing three assists to sit one behind Bruno Guimaraes in the assist charts.
Ousmane Dembele was cut to 8/1 after his hat-trick against Norway, while Harry Kane, Lamine Yamal and Vinicius Junior remain prominent in the betting.
Interestingly, with the exception of Messi in 2022, it's rare that a World Cup winner actually takes the Golden Ball, which has been officially awarded in its current guise since 1982, and no player as won the Golden Ball and Golden Boot in the same World Cup.
In 2018, Luka Modric's performances for Croatia saw him take the Golden Ball in Russia prior to his Ballon d'Or win later that year; Messi won the first of two Golden Balls in 2014; Diego Forlan's exploits for Uruguay in 2010 saw him pip the likes of Wesley Sneijder, David Villa, Xavi and Andres Iniesta, while Zinedine Zidane won the award in 2006.
Going back further, Oliver Kahn won in 2002 with Ronaldo winning in 1998 despite his no-show in the final. Interestingly, beaten finalists have a better record than winners, with runners-up claiming the award five times to the winners' four. Salvatore Schillaci and Forlan were the only two winners not to reach the final.
