Who will break the Ronaldo-Messi award monopoly?

For the last 10 years, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have held exclusive control of world football's awards ceremonies, adding one trophy after another to their respective cabinets. Whether it's the FIFA World Player of the Year, the Ballon d'Or, or the Best FIFA Football Awards, the two players have refused to allow anyone else to capture the top individual honours.

In fact, the last time someone else won an individual award was back in 2007, when Kaka, then at AC Milan, was named FIFA World Player of the Year ahead of Messi and Ronaldo.

The outcome was no different in December, when Ronaldo edged out Messi and Antoine Griezmann to capture the fourth Ballon d'Or award of his career, or on Monday, when the Portuguese virtuoso did so again to snatch The Best FIFA Men's Player award.

Related - Clean sweep: Ronaldo takes home Best FIFA Men's Player award

It feels like Ronaldo and Messi will never loosen their grip on world football's awards ceremonies, but, eventually, a day will come when a third party claims a top individual honour. The question must therefore be asked: who will be the first player to break the monopoly?

Logically, the top candidate is Antoine Griezmann, who came third to Ronaldo and Messi in last year's Ballon d'Or award and third again in The Best FIFA Men's Player award. Many believe the French attacker could have won the two accolades had Atletico Madrid and France emerged victorious in the 2015-16 Champions League and Euro 2016, respectively. On both occasions, the 25-year-old found himself on the losing side in the final.

But, by that logic, Griezmann isn't an ideal candidate to dethrone Ronaldo in 2017. Atleti isn't looking like its usual self in La Liga while Real Madrid sits atop the standings, and France missed out on the 2017 Confederations Cup, while Portugal qualified.

Neymar, another candidate to breach the monopoly, also looks unlikely to break the mould. The Brazilian phenom is playing alongside Messi on a weekly basis and, barring an injury to the native of Rosario, Argentina, is unlikely to surpass his teammate before the end of 2017. Brazil also failed to qualify for the 2017 Confederations Cup.

That leaves Luis Suarez and Manuel Neuer.

Suarez was the only new face in the FIFPro World 11, which was announced Monday prior to The Best FIFA Men's Player award. But it remains unclear how the Uruguayan forward can usurp Messi and Ronaldo. He is a different type of player, scoring goals at a ruthless rate rather than dancing through defenders. If tallying more league goals and assists than anyone else in 2016 isn't enough, it's hard to see how the product of Nacional can change his fortunes in 2017.

As for Neuer, it goes without saying that comparing a 'keeper to Ronaldo and Messi is pointless. The German shot-stopper is the planet's best No. 1, but if winning the 2014 World Cup wasn't enough to break the monopoly, it's safe to say he will never win an award ahead of the two outfield players.

In other words, it will likely take a calendar year in which Ronaldo and Messi both regress significantly before the Ballon d'Or award or The Best FIFA Men's Player award goes anywhere else. Then, the honours will be bestowed upon those who delivered at the right time.