But, indeed in this season there are still players who are statistically better than Messi & Ronaldo.
Can you name a single player who was better than Messi statistically?
First I want to clear that Ballon d'Or isn't given for Football season. It is rather awarded as per calendar year. So the period under consideration will be Dec 2018 to Nov 2019.
Mbappe was superb last year which earned him a spot in top 5 last year. But this year he is pretty average so far. He won't even make to top 5 this year. Then who? Well let's see.
1. Van Dijk: Ballon d'Or is awarded as per weighted average of total scores from different judges. Now here comes the personal judgement of different judges. Some prefer individual performance while some give more importance to team performance. Van Dijk is most successful team performer. However, individually I think he's too overrated. Many defenders had better seasons than him in past but weren't even considered in Top 10.
2. Ronaldo: No! Not his best season. Not even one of his top 5 seasons. Even failed to win Copa Italia. Juventus was winning Series A from last 8 seasons. Nations League is not a worthy trophy to be considered. Statistically he wasn't top scorer in both Series A and UCL. He may make to top 5 but not top 3 this year.
3. Messi: Statistically the best player this year so far and most probably will end as the best player. However, Barcelona had worse season than last. Failed to win Copa Del Rey. But his individual brilliance is enough to rank him among top 2. However, winning copa America can assure his title.
4. Others: Raheem Sterling can be surprise entry in top 5 or even top 3. His team had best domestic season in whole Europe. He's been most instrumental among all his teammates. Hazard also had brilliant season but Europa League winner getting ballon d'or would be disgrace for award. Salah wasn't the best player in Liverpool this season. I prefer Mane over him for top 5.
So my top 5 in no order are: Messi, Van Dijk, Raheem Sterling, Sadio Mane, Hazard/Ronaldo.