Virgil van Dijk has drifted to the second favourite, ahead of today’s ceremony
Lionel Messi has had his odds cut into an almost unbeatable favourite to win the Ballon d’Or, following various press reports claiming the Argentine has won it.
Odds on the Barcelona forward have been slashed from 3/1 into 1/12, in an unbelievable shakeup at the top of the market.
Liverpool’s towering centre back Virgil van Dijk has topped the market throughout the season but has only drifted in the last week to win it.
Van Dijk has drifted from 1/2 clear favourite out to 6/1 to win the highly prestigious individual award, with money continuing to come for Messi.
Elsewhere, Cristiano Ronaldo is the third favourite at 33/1, followed by Liverpool's Sadio Mane and Alisson Becker, both at 100/1.
In terms of where the money's going, a whopping 81% of bets in the last 24 hours have backed Messi, with just 15% in favour of van Dijk.
Football stat gurus WhoScored.com revealed that Messi is their top-rated player (8.61) and won more MOTM awards (6) than any other player in Europe's top five leagues
Van Dijk has won more aerial duels (75) than any other defender in Europe's top five leagues.
No centre-back has scored more goals than Van Dijk (3) than any other centre-back in Europe's top five leagues this season
Oddschecker spokesperson Callum Wilson: “It's not often that Lionel Messi winning the Ballon d'Or can be considered an upset, but his likely triumph this year will surely fall under that category.
"It looked for all money as if Champions League-winning Virgil van Dijk would claim the ultimate prize, but it's now clear the Dutchman will be agonisingly edged-out by the Argentine master."
