The Ballon d’Or is the pinnacle of world football, and whoever wins it is seen as the best player in the world for that year. It has been an award that has been around since 1956 and has been presented every year in one way or another. The award essentially honours the player that has been the best performer over the course of the year, as voted for by football journalists around the globe.
You could actually make money from betting on who will win the Ballon d’Or in 2018 too, as many bookmakers offer odds on who will claim the famous individual trophy. Lionel Messi is the favourite at the moment, but there are a number of players who can challenge.
While you are on the bookmaker websites looking at the Ballon d’Or odds, you could use matched betting to your benefit. Some excellent matched betting sites such as Profit Accumulator, Oddsmonkey and Matched Bets give you great advice on how you could make an expected profit from bookmaker offers.
They have years of matched betting experience between them and have some great tools on offer, including odds matching software and matched betting calculators, which are crucial. We certainly recommend a membership with one of these matched betting sites. We will have more information on matched betting, showing how you can benefit a little bit later in this article.
Looking ahead to the presentation of the Ballon d’Or later this year though, let’s take a look at some odds on who is likely to be voted the winner and see if there is any value to be found.
Ballon d’Or Current Odds
Lionel Messi
Best Odds – 7/4 (Marathon Bet)
Lionel Messi is thought to be the greatest player to ever lace up a pair of boots by many football fans and pundits, which explains why he has won 5 Ballon d’Or’s so far in his career; 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015. Barcelona look like they are going to win La Liga pretty comfortably this year, which will put Messi ahead of his major rival Cristiano Ronaldo early.
Barca are also hoping to win the Champions League, and whoever wins the famous European Cup will automatically see their main player as a key challenger for the Ballon d’Or. The World Cup will also be crucial, and Messi will be hoping to go one better with Argentina than he did in 2014, when they lost out in the final.
Neymar
Best Odds – 11/4 (Marathon Bet)
According to many reports, the reason why Neymar decided to leave Barcelona to join Paris Saint Germain was so that he would be out of the shadow of Messi, which would give him the best chance of winning the Ballon d’Or.
There are a couple of things that may get in the way of the Brazilian superstar winning the trophy. A Champions League win is pretty much a must, but they are on the edge of elimination after a 3-1 defeat against Real Madrid in the first leg of their last 16 tie. Even worse than that, Neymar was stretchered off in tears at the weekend against Marseille after a nasty looking injury.
That may be the end of his season unfortunately, though we do not currently know how long he’ll be out for. If he misses out for a long time, his Ballon d’Or hopes will be all but over.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Best Odds – 15/2 (Marathon Bet)
The Real Madrid superstar has dominated the Ballon d’Or vote over the last couple of years, winning it in 2008, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017. However, he is a bit of an outsider due to Real Madrid’s poor position in La Liga. Add to the fact that Ronaldo has not been in his usual amazing goalscoring form so far and he will need to turn things around.
There is still plenty of time in 2018 though, and everyone is aware of the quality the ex-Manchester United forward possesses. Real could win the Champions League yet again, and although big outsiders, Portugal could in fact add to their Euro 2016 triumph by claiming the World Cup too.
If Messi or Ronaldo win the Ballon d’Or, they will break the record with an amazing 6 wins. The next closest to them throughout history are Michel Platini, Johan Cruyff and Marco van Basten with 3 wins each throughout their fantastic careers.
Kevin De Bruyne
Best Odds – 14/1 (Unibet)
The Manchester City playmaker has been in incredible form so far in 2018 and plenty of trophies are likely to be in his future. The first of those came on Sunday, as Man City won the Carabao Cup with ease against Arsenal by 3 goals to 0.
De Bruyne really is the key man for Pep Guardiola’s side and if they go on to win a treble this season then he is in with a good shout of the Ballon d’Or. Many have said that KDB has been the best Premier League player so far.
It would take a monumental effort for someone other than Messi or Ronaldo to win in this day and age, but De Bruyne might just be the man.
Antoine Griezmann
Best Odds – 28/1 (Marathon Bet)
The Atletico Madrid striker is in good form at the moment, which was summed up by a fantastic goal against Sevilla on Sunday with his weaker foot from outside the area. Atletico are 7 points behind Barcelona in La Liga but could in theory still turn things around.
What may put Griezmann ahead of his rivals is a good performance in the World Cup. If, for example, he was to be the top scorer and France won the trophy his odds would likely tumble.
Harry Kane
Best Odds – 50/1 (Unibet)
The England striker is in amazing form, and has been ever since he broke onto the scene a few years ago. The current odds on Sky Bet for Kane to win the Ballon d’Or are 9/1, so the 50/1 on Unibet offers amazing value.
Not many England fans think they will win the World Cup, but stranger things have happened. If that were to happen, the Three Lions would likely be carried through by the goals of Harry Kane.
There are plenty of other options too, including Philippe Coutinho (33/1), Paul Pogba (50/1), Kylian Mbappe (80/1), David De Gea (100/1), Dries Mertens (100/1) , Eden Hazard (100/1), Gareth Bale (100/1), Gonzalo Higuain (100/1). It should be a fantastic year of football, and whoever claims the famous trophy at the end of the year will definitely have earned it.
How You Can Benefit From Matched Betting
While spending time on bookmaker websites, we highly recommend looking into the technique known as matched betting in order to make an expected profit. With the help of matched betting sites such as Profit Accumulator, Oddsmonkey or Matched Bets, you could make a profit from the special promotions advertised on bookmaker websites. Matched betting involves placing a back bet on a selection to win with a bookmaker and a lay bet on the same selection not to win with a betting exchange.
So as an example of how it works, if a bookmaker was to offer you a £20 free bet when you sign up for an account and place your first bet, you could make a profit from matched betting. The back bet and the lay bet will cover all potential outcomes and thus will allow you to qualify for the free bet.
In this example, once the £20 free bet has been credited to you, you will then be able to repeat the same back and lay strategy using the free bet stake in order to make an expected profit. Matched betting offers a number of great potential money making opportunities, both in the short term and long term. Looking into a subscription for a matched betting site will be well worth your while.