Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri has insisted that Cristiano Ronaldo 'deserves' to win the 2018 Ballon d'Or when it is handed out in December.
Luka Modric won the breakaway Best FIFA Men's Player award ahead of Ronaldo and Mohamed Salah in September, but the Ballon d'Or presided over by France Football remains the most prestigious individual accolade there is.
And Allegri has insisted there can only be one winner this year.
"Cristiano deserves to win the Ballon d'Or for everything he's done - the goals he's scored, the trophies he's won and what he's doing this season too," the Juve coach said, via Juventus.com. "He's world-class. He's taken us to another level because he's brought international experience and he's raised everyone's belief."
Ronaldo finished his nine-year career with Real Madrid by winning a third straight Champions League title. He later went on to score a hat-trick against Spain at the World Cup and has scored seven goals in 10 games since completing a €100m move to Italy in summer.
Nobody other than Ronaldo or Lionel Messi has won the Ballon d'Or since Kaka in 2007. The same was true of the various forms of the top award handed out by FIFA until September when Modric won the vote to end the era of dominance.
The Croatian, who won the Champions League alongside Ronaldo with Real but also steered Croatia to the World Cup final and won the tournament's Golden Ball as best player, is odds on favourite with bookmakers to make it a FIFA/Ballon d'Or double.
Modric is currently listed at 4/9 by SkyBet, with Ronaldo at 5/2 and Antoine Griezmann at 7/1.