Not since 2008 has the most prestigious individual prize in men's football been won by a player who wasn't plying his trade in Spain.
LaLiga players have completely dominated the Ballon d'Or over the course of the past decade: Barcelona's Lionel Messi has won it five times, while Cristiano Ronaldo (four) and Luka Modric (one) have also picked up the award for their performances for Real Madrid.
Never before has this award gone to the same country 10 years in a row. The closest any other league has come to LaLiga's dominance of the past decade was the six victories by Bundesliga players in a row between 1976 and 1981.
With 45 goals and 17 assists across the calendar year of 2019, Messi is a leading candidate to pick up a sixth gong. His play in LaLiga has been as good as ever, from his incredible hat-trick away at Real Betis in March to his two-goal-and-two-assists game against Real Valladolid in October and hat-trick against RC Celta hat-trick this month in which he scored two direct freekicks.
Messi isn't the only Spain-based candidate for this year's award, however. There are seven LaLiga players on the shortlist: Karim Benzema (Real Madrid), Eden Hazard (Real Madrid), Antoine Griezmann (FC Barcelona), João Félix (Atletico de Madrid), Marc-André ter Stegen (FC Barcelona), Frenkie de Jong (FC Barcelona) and Messi. Each of those players fully deserves to be on the list, for various reasons.
Benzema is having one of the years of his life and is currently the leader of LaLiga Santander's top scorer standings with 10 goals in just 12 appearances. Hazard finished his Chelsea career in by leading them to Europa League success and has started to thrive at Real Madrid following his blockbuster summer transfer. Griezmann, who finished third in last year's Ballon d'Or, was once again his excellent self at Atlético de Madrid last year before making a move to Barcelona in the summer and has consistently shone while on France duty.
Joao Félix has had a breakout year, initially with Benfica but now with Atletico de Madrid, and was this week crowned the 2019 Golden Boy, the award given to the best U-21 player in European football.
Marc-Andre ter Stegen continues to produce miracle save after miracle save for Barcelona, cementing his claim to be the best goalkeeper in the world, while teammate Frenkie de Jong has slotted seamlessly into the Barcelona midfield after anchoring the Ajax side which wowed European football last season.
Will the Ballon d'Or be coming back to LaLiga for the 11th year in a row? Could there even be multiple LaLiga players on the dais? All will be known after tonight in Paris.
