Golden Ball, today's ceremony takes place

This year is marked by a great war among players who will win Golden Ball, unlike in other years where the name Lionel Messes of Cristiano Ronaldo was undisputed, writes Periscope.

The Argentinian star is completely off the favourite list, while Portuguese is unlikely to grab the prize, even though it is expected to be within the best quarter.

The main favourite remains Luka Modric, winner of the Real Madrid Champions League and finalist of the World Championship.

Antoine Greezmann, Kylian Mbppe and Raphael Varian are the other names to discuss this year's award.

How was it voted on? 

The initial list of candidates for this award consists of 30 football players and is selected by the editorial team of the French soccer newspaper, France Football, which this year has been separated from FIFA.

After the list, different journalists from all parts of the world, who have the right to vote according to players' performance.

Journalists will select five of the 30 football players on the list, and then the top five players will be selected.

Journalists value football players according to these criteria:

Individual and team presentations during the year;
The player's class (talent and fair play);
The football career's overall assessment.

The footballer, who is praised by each journalist in the top position, will get six points, second four points, third three points, fourth two points and fifth one point. /Periscopi/