After 12 months of debating and spectating, a split from FIFA and the announcement of a 30-strong longlist, the winner of the 2016 Ballon d'Or will be announced on Monday with Cristiano Ronaldo considered the nailed-on certainty to claim his fourth award.
In fact, the Real Madrid winger won't be present at the ceremony in Paris because of his success with Los Blancos, lifting the Champions League in May and earning a spot at the Club World Cup, currently taking place in Japan.
Who's on the longlist?
Lifting both Europe's biggest club trophy as well as the international showpiece, captaining Portugal to a shock Euro 2016 triumph, Ronaldo has the silverware to show for a strong year although his form has been occasionally erratic and certainly not his best.
In the opposite corner is the winger's eternal rival, Lionel Messi, who has bagged 12 more goals than Ronaldo and took home the Copa del Rey and LaLiga titles for Barcelona, missing out on a Copa America crown with Argentina.
The Blaugrana star will however be keeping his edge on the Portuguese forward even with the likely defeat on Monday, which would see their almost decade-long domination of the Ballon d'Or continue at 5-4 to Messi.
Ronaldo's new do
If first and second seem nicely set, the battle for third is somewhat more complicated as Antoine Griezmann approaches the end of year out of sorts and carrying the baggage of two defeats in major finals - both to Ronaldo.
Neymar, part of the triumphant Barcelona side but also the Brazilian Olympics gold medalists, poses a threat to the podium and the plausibility of Gareth Bale, Serie A record-breaker Gonzalo Higuain, or even Leicester City's Riyad Mahrez crashing the party cannot be ruled out.