FIFA Golden

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has tipped Kevin de Bruyne to compete for the 2018 Ballon d'Or after his exceptional performances in the Citizens shirt this season. The 26-year-old has evolved into a world-class midfielder under the tutelage of Guardiola, and he recently provided a hat-trick of assists during his side's 5-1 win over Leicester City in the Premier League.

Following the game, Guardiola was asked whether the Belgian could win the prestigious Ballon d'Or, and he admitted that it is a possibility, if the midfielder goes on to lift titles with the club this term, he said: "No doubt. He is not (just doing it in) one game. It’s the whole season, every three days playing that way. But he knows and everyone knows, to be there you have to win titles - and titles and titles, especially one. But the way he’s played it’s difficult to find one (better) in Europe."

There’s always going to be a practically endless supply of different betting markets to get behind when it comes to football, and more are starting to get created and put into the limelight as more punters discover more desirable ways to bet.

Getting behind sides to win will always be a cornerstone in football betting but there’s now more options than ever before, leaving win, lose or draw as a last resort to a lot of people.

World football regulatory body FIFA are set to weigh in on transfer deals in a bid to limit the lavish spending especially across Europe. FIFA president Gianni Infantino hinted that the body was working on a set of rules to limit agent fees and transfer market expenditures in a bid to “rescue the values that made football great.”

The transfer market has been in a serious upward trend for years now. In 2017, the market witnessed a new high. French side Paris St-Germain spent almost £200 million to lure Neymar to move from Barcelona to Paris. They also paid almost £160 million for teenage sensation Kylian Mbappe in a loan plus eventual purchase deal, with the money paid dwarfing the amounts that many - including Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich are capable of paying.

Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane has confirmed that he would like Cristiano Ronaldo to retire at the Spanish outfit. Ronaldo has been the influential player that Real Madrid over the last eight seasons. He came to Madrid in an £ 80 million deal from Manchester United in 2009.

Back then, it broke the world record for the most expensive player, but it has been money well spent for the Spanish outfit. During his time at the club, Ronaldo has been able to bring in an enormous amount of success – including two Champions League and two La Liga medals. Furthermore, he has been able to achieve a lot of individual success as well.

Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino feels Dele Alli has the chance to win Ballon d'Or title as he progresses further in his professional career. The England international has made himself as the go-to man in the Spurs attack ever since his debut during the 2015/16 season.

In a report covered by The Telegraph, Pochettino insists that the youngster has the capacity to secure the accolade with Spurs providing him with the best tools to become one of the world's best, he said, "Why not? It is true that he is now in another moment of his career completely different, but Dele has potential. He has that capacity and that energy, that aura that does not leave you indifferent. Hopefully, let's hope. He is still young and still has to improve and learn many things. We are trying to provide him with the best tools."

Uruguay international Edinson Cavani has revealed that he has put his differences aside with teammate Neymar, and is looking forward to helping the Brazilian win the Ballon d'Or title.

The pair were involved in an on-field spat over a penalty and free-kick which led to speculation that Cavani could leave Parc des Princes in January.

However, the two have since patched up with Cavani hoping to help Neymar secure football's most prestigious individual honour, he told Ovacion: "I spoke with him and told him what I thought, but they're things that stay in the dressing room. I'm not going to tell you what we said to each other. Individual honours will come because the team does well, that means everyone is working well. And if we have the best in the world, that's great for me. I have said several times I want him to have the Ballon d'Or because if that happens it means he'll have scored lots of goals and he'll have helped us win things."

Former Barcelona teammate Jeremy Mathieu has suggested that Neymar decided to leave Camp Nou in order to improve his chances of winning the FIFA Ballon d'Or.

The Brazil international shook the footballing world earlier in August after he made a surprise switch to Paris Saint-Germain in a €222 million deal.

Messi has won the Ballon d'Or on five occasions in his career, while Neymar had not tasted any success with his best placing being a third-place finish in 2015. To make things worse, he did not even make the podium last year as the likes of Antoine Griezmann and Luis Suarez pushed him into fifth spot as Cristiano Ronaldo lifted the crown.

England manager Gareth Southgate has sensationally revealed that striker Harry Kane is already comparing himself with the regular FIFA Ballon d’Or award winners like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Both these players are regarded as the best in the world right now, and their supremacy has not been challenged for the last decade. However, there are signs of both players slowing down and other players rising up to the challenge. One of the names causing a lot of flutter in the scenario happens to be Harry Kane, who has been scoring a lot of goals.

There have been many reasons for why Brazilian star Neymar would move to France. Some have pointed out how he was at the shadow of Lionel Messi at Barcelona and how he needed his own space to shine.

Some others claimed the deal was all about money for the player, his family, more for being the World Cup ambassador and PSG getting the benefits on the pitch. Some other preferred the idea that Neymar badly wanted to win the Ballon d’Or – which might take him three more years to win when the Messi-Ronaldo war ends.

Not many would have believed at the start of the summer transfer window that Neymar would leave Barcelona for Paris Saint-Germain but the world’s most expensive (and shocking) transfer has taken place. The Brazil international forward has decided to give up on playing with the likes of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Andres Iniesta, and Gerard Pique to don the colours of PSG.

For many, this is a step down. After all, Barcelona have a far better squad than PSG and are also one of the top favourites to win the Champions League. Moreover, La Liga is a much better, more competitive, and richer domestic league than Ligue 1. Did money play a major role in the transfer? Probably. After all, it would have been hard for Barcelona to turn down a transfer fee of £200 million and, for Neymar, a weekly salary of £537,000 after tax.