December is traditionally awards season in soccer, with the Best FIFA Football Awards handed out for excellence in the sport along with the longest-running honor for men's and women's players, the fabled Ballon d'Or. The prize, first awarded by a French soccer magazine in 1956, is considered the most prestigious trophy in the game, and over the past decade, it's been monopolized by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, two of the best to ever play the game. (In fact, just once in the past 12 years has the men's prize gone to someone else: kudos to Luka Modric for claiming top spot in 2018 off the back of Croatia's run to the World Cup final.
Ballon d'Or 2020 was canceled this year, but who should have won? Our experts decide
