Ballon d'Or top three 'leaked' - No Messi or Ronaldo

French journalist Eric Mamruth 'leaked' the current top three on Twitter earlier this week - and the results are interesting.

Leading the way is reportedly Croatia skipper Luka Modric, who led his country to the World Cup final and also won another Champions League with Real Madrid.

Modric also emerged victorious at the Best FIFA Football Awards in September and will be looking to add the Ballon d'Or to his collection.

Interestingly, in second place is his Real Madrid teammate Raphael Varane.

The defender was excellent for club and country last season as France went on to pip Croatia in the World Cup final.

And they are joined in the top three by PSG sensation Kylian Mbappe.

He has continued where he left off last term with the Ligue 1 leaders and already has 13 goals to his name in all competitions.

It remains to be seen if the current standings will remain this way but the bookmakers have Modric as the overwhelming favourite.

He is placed ahead of Ronaldo and Griezmann, while Mbappe and Messi make the top five.

Mohamed Salah, who was the best player in the Premier League last season, is an outsider for the award.