Ballon d'Or: Experts make cases for Harry Kane, Lamine Yamal as duo battle for major prize

Sports Mole's Football Editor Matt Law, Senior Reporter Oliver Thomas and Site Coordinator Ben Knapton discuss the race for the Ballon d'Or, with Barcelona's Lamine Yamal and Bayern Munich's Harry Kane regarded as the favourites for the prize.

Matt Law, Football Editor: "I'm really 50/50 on Kane and Yamal"

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They are the favourites, the top two with the bookmakers. Mbappe is in the mix. Rodri and Messi have had some shouts. Kvaratskhelia has had some shouts. Dembele is slightly further down the rankings.

But Yamal is an interesting one because of his World Cup. He came into the World Cup off that injury he had, and he never quite got there. Kane had an excellent World Cup for England.

If Kane had managed to win the World Cup for England, it would have put him in a fantastic position. Yamal's quotes were really interesting. It is an argument I have had for a while about these magical players. That isn't to say Kane isn't a magical player for goals.

But Yamal mentioned Ronaldinho and Messi and these players that we just don't see anymore, do we? You think of Jay-Jay Okocha and players like this. To be honest with you, that is why I like Cherki at Man City. It is a strange one, being a United fan.

But he has that arrogance and that way he plays the game and that little bit of, that different personality that these players had down the years.

I'm not saying that Kane doesn't have personality and Yamal does, but the point I'm trying to make is that the Ballon d'Or isn't meant to be about who scored the most goals.

Because if it was, you would simply win the Ballon d'Or if you scored the most goals. That would be the eligibility for it, but that is obviously not the case. We know that. So for me, this year, it is a really tough one, to be honest. I'm really 50/50 on Kane and Yamal.

I think what Kane did for Bayern in terms of his goals was extraordinary. But what he managed to do for them, I think 73 goals, wasn't it, for club and country as well.

He won the Bundesliga, the German Cup and the German Super Cup. Yamal won the World Cup, La Liga and the Spanish Super Cup as well. I think the Champions League was the one that got away from both of them. Both had ambitions to do that.

But I would probably just be going Lamine Yamal because of the World Cup. I know I'm contradicting myself in the sense that he wasn't unbelievable for Spain, but he did have a huge say on that team.

He is so important for them. But then my other part thinks Kane is probably never going to win it again, is he? And I think Yamal could potentially win five or six in the coming years, couldn't he, maybe even more, considering his talent.

It is an interesting one for this game, Yamal against Kane. Yamal has been so good to start the season, and so has Kane for Bayern, but Yamal in particular has eight goals and six assists for Barcelona this season.

It is a Barcelona side where Raphinha looks like he is going to score about 300 goals this season. He seems to get hat-tricks or braces every single game, and Yamal keeps setting him up.

I think Kane is just above him with the bookmakers, but I could be wrong, as I think it keeps changing.

I think they consider Kane to be the slight favourite at this stage. But for me, I would be going Yamal because of his overall contribution to Barcelona. They had their league success last season. He was so good, and obviously winning that World Cup as well.

Oliver Thomas, Senior Reporter: "I don't think there is a clear number one"

It is very hard this year. I don't think there is a clear number one for this.

If I was to contrast Matt's view on Yamal and compare it with Kane, obviously goals win you games, and that is hugely important in football.

But I think the influence a player can have on a team should also be recognised for this award. With someone like Kane, you just wonder, would Bayern have been so successful without Kane and those goals? Probably not.

If you compare it with someone like Yamal, would Barca have won the La Liga title without Yamal? Maybe, I would say. I think there is more of an argument for that compared to Kane.

Yamal is obviously incredibly important, and you could say the same with Spain. Would Spain have still gone on to win the World Cup without Yamal? I would probably say yes, there would be a strong chance of that.

But with Kane and what he has done at Bayern Munich in the last 12 months, I don't think Bayern would be anywhere near without his goals.

They could possibly win the Bundesliga title, I guess, but just in the manner they have done it and the games they have won by, three, four, five, six goals, with Kane getting braces and hat-tricks on a regular basis, I just think Kane's influence has been huge for Bayern Munich.

Overall, I think this year is similar to last year. Some were suggesting it could be Rodri or Vinicius Jr or someone like that, but Dembele won it.

I think this year there are about four or five options that have a good chance. So if I had to pick one name, with my England hat on I would say Kane, but I think there are a lot of decent shouts out there.

Ben Knapton, Site Coordinator: "For me, Harry Kane is the Ballon d'Or winner"

Declan Rice. Oh, no, I'm kidding. I'm not going that far. I'm not going AFTV levels. But no, I'm thinking Kane, it helps. Kane is playing with Michael Olise, and we haven't even mentioned his name yet.

He got goals and assists at a ridiculous rate last year as well. Kane and Yamal are both playing with amazing players around them, which does make their job easier.

That isn't to take away from their qualities at all. They are both absolutely generational, world-class players. But I think in terms of what Oliver says, it isn't just the goals, it is the all-round play and the influence in the success.

For me, Harry Kane is the Ballon d'Or winner. But it is quite nice to have one where, for the last 15, nearly 20 years even, it was either going to be Messi or Ronaldo, with the odd Modric or Benzema thrown in there.

It is quite cool to have one where we literally don't know what is going to happen, unless there are leaks that come out a few hours before the ceremony, which happens with everything and anything these days in the social media world.