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Cape Town - Former UEFA president Michel Platini insists Real Madrid star Raphael Varane deserves this year's Ballon d'Or for winning the Champions League and World Cup.
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have dominated the award over the last decade, each clinching five gongs, while Luka Modric, Kylian Mbappe, and Antoine Griezmann have been touted as contenders for the individual honour this year.
However, Platini reckons Varane deserves the Ballon d'Or simply because he is the only player to lift both the Champions League and World Cup trophies this year.
"It has never been easier than this year to choose who is going to win the Ballon d'Or," Platini told RMC.
"It's a Frenchman who is going to win the Ballon d'Or. I hope so. There's only one player who has won the Champions League and the World Cup - it's Varane. There's always the Ronaldo-Messi debate, but this year there's only one, one who has won all that, his name is Varane.
"He's an excellent player. I would have voted for him, the results are the only objective thing, everything else is subjective.
"We can have opinions about Griezmann, Mbappe, [Olivier] Giroud, [Hugo] Lloris, Modric... But the only one who has won everything this year is Raphael Varane."
The winner will be revealed on Monday, December 3.
