30 man Shortlisted for the 2017 Ballon d’Or award which is given to the world’s best player.The last winner of Ballon d’Or other than Messi and his Portuguese rival was 10 years ago,Brazil midfielder Kaka in 2007. Messi has claimed the prize on five occasions and Cristiano won four times.
A total of six Premier League players has been picked by France Football magazine for the prestigious prize,among them are Tottenham striker Harry Kane ,Chelsea midfielder Eden Hazard.David de Gea, Philippe Coutinho and Sadio Mane, Kevin de Bruyne and N’Golo Kante, have also been chosen.
Gareth Bale misses out, while Real Madrid has the most players on the list with seven — Ronaldo, Luka Modric, Marcelo, Sergio Ramos, Toni Kroos, Karim Benzema and Isco.Wales forward Bale, has only scored five goals for Real Madrid this year, struggling for form and fitness at the end of last season.
Real Madrid forward Ronaldo, 32, beat Barcelona’s Messi to win the award for a fourth time last year.
Cristiano Ronaldo will be the favourite to retain his Ballon d’Or this year and equal the record of Lionel Messi. As he helped Real Madrid to a third Champions League crown in four seasons and a first La Liga title in five years, as well as the FIFA Club World Cup.
The award winner will be named by France Football on 6th December, though there won’t be a traditional gala to celebrate the winner’s achievement.
The 30-man Ballon d’Or shortlist in full:
Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain)
Luka Modric (Real Madrid)
Paulo Dybala (Juventus)
Marcelo (Real Madrid)
N’Golo Kante (Chelsea)
Luis Suarez (Barcelona)
Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid)
Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid)
Philippe Coutinho (Liverpool)
Dries Mertens (Napoli)
Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)
Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
David de Gea (Manchester United)
Harry Kane (Tottenham)
Edin Dzeko (Roma)
Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid)
Toni Kroos (Real Madrid)
Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus)
Sadio Mane (Liverpool)
Radamel Falcao (Monaco)
Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Borussia Dortmund)
Edinson Cavani (Paris Saint-Germain)
Mats Hummels (Bayern Munich)
Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
Eden Hazard (Chelsea)
Leonardo Bonucci (AC Milan)
Isco (Real Madrid)
Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain)
