The 2018 Ballon d'Or is approaching and it is the most interesting race for a very, very long time.

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have absolutely dominated the award for a decade now, with Ronaldo winning his first in 2008.

Since then, the legendary duo have split the award evenly, sitting on five each - an incredible statistic when you consider the record a decade ago was 'just' three.

But with them both having disappointing World Cups, the race is wide open for the 2018 crown.

Luka Modric demonstrated that perfectly by winning both the UEFA Player of the Year award and FIFA's 'The Best' award - making him the favourite of many to add the Ballon d'Or.

Kaka remains the last man not named Cristiano or Lionel to take the ball home and this year looks like a return to that era, when players actually stood a chance of winning it.

Everyone has their own choice at the moment, including legendary goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon - and he's happily explained exactly why his pick deserves it this year.

“Mbappe is a phenomenon,” Buffon told French TV show Tout Le Sport. “In Italy, they compare him to [Roberto] Baggio, [Francesco] Totti, [Alessandro] Del Piero, but he has talent and technical quality that I’ve rarely seen in my career.

“For his qualities, what he does on the pitch and how decisive he was at the World Cup he deserves [the Ballon d’Or] - I can’t say the opposite.”

Mbappe will certainly be in the running after his performances at the World Cup. He became the first teenager since Pele to bag a brace in a knockout match before doing the same as a World Cup Final scorer.

And Buffon believes his Paris Saint-Germain teammate can also match Pele elsewhere - by becoming the best in the world.

“If he keeps wanting to be the best, if he retains his enthusiasm and continues to behave normally, then he can become that and stay the best for a long time," he said.

Mbappe is well on his way to becoming that.