Eight-time winner Lionel Messi is the favourite to win yet another Ballon d'Or award after leading Argentina to a seventh World Cup final.
With his nation trailing England and only five minutes of normal time remaining, Messi delivered on the global stage once again as he provided two assists to help Argentina win a dramatic semi-final in Atlanta.
Argentina are now one win away from being the third team to win back-to-back World Cups and a Messi-inspired victory over Spain would surely see Messi shorten in the Ballon d'Or market as he continues to make more history.
What odds was Lionel Messi to win the Ballon d'Or before the World Cup?
Lionel Messi was priced at 50/1 to win the Ballon d'Or before the World Cup, but his odds have shortened significantly over the last few weeks and is now the 1/1 favourite ahead of Harry Kane and Lamine Yamal.
The 39-year-old has proven he can well and truly still deliver performances on the biggest of stages and he set the tone in his tournament opener by celebrating a 200th international appearance with a sensational hat-trick against Algeria.
Messi followed that display up by netting a brace against Austria, with the first goal in that game resulting in him breaking the all-time World Cup goal record.
The great man now has now scored eight goals and recorded four assists in seven games so far this summer and is primed to add a number of awards to his already incredible CV.
Any odds displayed were correct at the time of writing and are subject to fluctuation.
