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Every year since 2017, B/R Football has split the year into four and run Ballon d'Or rankings after every quarter.
The goal? To gauge players' calendar-year performances and statistics, then create an informed shortlist of who might have put themselves in the running for the award. It is, essentially, "if the Ballon d'Or was awarded now, who would get it?"
In a typical year, it only forms a sliver of the picture—particularly the March edition—as there's so much more football to be played, and almost all of the deciding factors (Champions League finals, international trophies) are still to come.