The Ballon d'Or has taken on greater significance than ever before, so much so that leading contenders briefly evolved into seasoned political campaigners in a bid to swing voters.
Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappé were particularly desperate in their attempts, with their PR teams working incessantly. It was nauseating, in truth, especially when Yamal was downplaying the efforts of another favourite for the award, Harry Kane.
"I think the Ballon d'Or should go to the best player in the world, full stop," the outstanding young Spaniard said. "Not to a player who has scored 80 goals, because if you score 80 goals, you get the top scorer award for that. Those are two completely different things that people do not understand."
This was an indirect reference to Kane, who scored 61 goals in 51 games for Bayern Munich last season, including 14 in 13 Champions League outings. He then scored six for England at the World Cup, as the Three Lions enjoyed their best finish at the tournament since 1966.
For many, it's a two-horse race between Yamal and Kane. The former is a worthy winner, for sure, but it'd so incredibly harsh on Kane if he doesn't get his hands on the silverware after the remarkable scoring campaign he embarked on.
You just get the sense that Yamal's campaigning in September may have swung the vote. It helped that he started the new season on fire, even if it's (at least it should be) completely irrelevant in regard to this year's award.
Roberto De Zerbi backs Harry Kane for Ballon d'Or
Unfortunately for Kane, much of his backing from teammates and contemporaties seemingly arrived after voting closed at the end of September.
Tottenham and England's record goalscorer was endorsed by compatriot Declan Rice after his exhibition against Arsenal in the Champions League last week, with Rice saying that Kane is the "clear winner" of the Ballon d'Or. Even Mikel Arteta waxed poetic, while Thierry Henry was on CBS gushing over the striker's wizardry as a playmaker.
There are plenty who have little interest in the award and are even alienated by the developing Ballon d'Or fever. You might remember when Vinícius Júnior doubled Real Madrid's lead in the 2024 Champions League final; all TNT Sports commentator Rio Ferdinand could utter in response was "Ballon d'Or, Ballon d'Or, Ballon d'Or..." He was wrong, as the award went to Rodri.
It's taken over football discourse. It's become an election, and everyone needs to have an opinion. "Claim your vote!" I can hear my old history teacher bellowing with a distinct Northern Irish accent.
The winner will be crowned on Monday, and perhaps the discussion, after the curious outrage that will inevitably follow the announcement, will subside for a little while. We can only hope.
I'd like Kane to win it, as the majority of Spurs fans surely do, but it's not going to ruin the start to my week. Spurs boss Roberto De Zerbi backs the club's record goalscorer to win the prestigious prize, too.
"Harry Kane deserves to win the Ballon d'Or. He's a 9, a 10; he's a number 2, a number 6, a total player," the Italian said when asked who should claim the award ahead of our trip to Chelsea on Saturday afternoon.
De Zerbi was unlikely to answer differently, given where the press conference was taking place, and ultimately his response has absolutely no bearing on the outcome. That's already been decided by a jury of journalists selected from the top 100 nations in FIFA's world rankings.
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