Paris: Come Monday, what looks to be a poorly kept secret will officially be out - Cristiano Ronaldo will bag his fourth Ballon d'Or as the world's top footballer.
The Real Madrid and Portugal star won the Champions League for the second time in three seasons and third time overall after one title with Manchester United in 2008.
He then led Portugal to their first major title at Euro 2016 - albeit he went off early through injury in the win over France.
As has been the case for almost a decade now, the 31-year-old's main rival will be Lionel Messi of Barcelona - but the Argentine maestro has had by his own exalted standards a less than stellar year both for club and country with the top prizes eluding him on both fronts.
Ronaldo was spotted midweek in training having dyed his hair gold in advance and for his club coach, there can only be one man for the crown this year.
"For me there is no debate. The Ballon will be for him," Zinedine Zidane said after his talisman's hattrick saw off Atletico Madrid last month to underpin their domination in La Liga.
"He showed it last season and he shows it again and again. We expect a lot of him but he stands above everyone."
Despite such effusive praise, Ronaldo, rested at the weekend ahead of the Club World Cup in Japan, has had some negative headlines - not least pertaining to accusations of tax evasion.
Denying any wrongdoing, he responded by publishing his financial records on Thursday - showing last year he earned a bumper 227.2 million euros ($ 240 million).
"You believe I am worried? He who owes nothing, fears nothing," Ronaldo told broadcaster RTP. An international consortium of media organisations has claimed the superstar hid 150 million euros from image rights in the British Virgin Islands.
This year marks the end of six years of joint awards by founders France Football and FIFA, which will revert to bestowing a "Best" accolade of its own on January 9 to both male and female players.
The Ballon d'Or will henceforth be decided by a vote of 173 journalists while national team captains and managers will no longer have a say.
Argentina and Barcelona star Messi landed a record fifth crown last year. A win will lift Ronaldo to within one award of Messi's record haul of five. Ronaldo first won the award in 2008 after Premier League and Champions League triumphs with Manchester United.
But it was only in 2013 he added his second and he made it a hat-trick the following year. The Real Madrid striker will not attend the gala event because he will be in Japan, ahead of the Club World Cup.
Real Madrid players were up bright and early after their 3-2 win over Deportivo la Coruna on Saturday night, to take their flight to Tokyo Haneda.
All the players in the squad flew except for Gareth Bale, who is out for four months after ankle surgery.
Real Madrid are set to land on Monday following a 13-and-a-half hour flight, before making their way to the Hotel Yokahama Royal Park.
Ronaldo will likely appear at the ceremony either through a pre-recorded video or live video link.
The Ballon d'Or was started by French publication France Football back in 1956, with Sir Stanley Matthews being the inaugural recipient. It was often referred to as the European Football of the Year award, and it was the only honour of its kind until 1991.
That year, Fifa introduced the World Player of the Year award, and from 1995 they allowed players from outside Europe to come into contention for the prize.
The two awards existed side-by-side until 2010, when the European and world honours were merged by Fifa to become the most prestigious individual honour in world football.
That ran for six years, with Messi taking the prize four times and Ronaldo winning it twice. But this year, the new Fifa president Gianni Infantino decided to revert to the old system.
(Reuters)
