Didier Drogba has thrown his weight behind Paris Saint Germain forward Kylian Mbappe to win the 2018 Ballon d'Or while praising Cristiano Ronaldo.
The France international is part of a 30-man shortlist for the coveted individual prize along with the Juventus forward and Barcelona captain Lionel Messi who have both dominated the award, winning it five times each.
Reports claim that the Argentina skipper and the former Real Madrid star will not be part of the final shortlist with the 19-year-old who was named the best young player in Russia and Golden Ball winner at the 2018 World Cup Luka Modric expected to lead the race.
And the former Chelsea striker, recently retired from football, is hoping that the French sensational wins the gong while lauding the Portuguese for his consistency.
"It would be really nice to see Kylian Mbappe win it. It would be refreshing,” Drogba told Goal at a Yokohoma event in New Delhi.
“But Ronaldo is still there, he's still a machine. He won all these Champions League trophies, changed leagues to go to Juventus, and he's scoring goals there. The man is just unbelievable."
Manchester City scored 106 goals last term to win the Premier League title and the League Cup, thus, breaking the most goals scored in a single season previously held by Chelsea with 103 goals in the 2009-2010 season but the former Cote d’Ivoire international believes his side under Carlo Ancelotti were better than Pep Guardiola’s team.
"Of course it'll be us,” he continued.
“They played very well last season. They broke our record of 103 goals scored that season. And they completely deserved that title. But our team in 2010 was extremely difficult to play against."
Gbenga Adewoye
Drogba’s former teammate Frank Lampard is the current coach of English Championship side Derby County, while John Terry was appointed assistant coach of Aston Villa after his retirement, Arsenal legend Thierry Henry is the manager of French Ligue 1 side Monaco and former Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard manages Scottish’s Rangers.
"Being a coach is not easy. I don't think they chose the easy way to be successful, and credit to them,” he added.
“They know the game really well. Frank, for example, has been great at Derby. I've played with him, and the guy is just sharp. Really quick.
“He understands situations really fast. He's always one step ahead. He's already doing well, and I'm sure he's going to be a great, great manager.”
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