The French magazine France Football, which presents the award for the best footballer of the calendar year, announced this year’s 30 nominees on Friday. Record winner Lionel Messi (six Ballons d’Or) and superstar Cristiano Ronaldo (five) have also made the shortlist.
Since 2016, FIFA and France Football have awarded the title for the best player in the world separately.
The 30 candidates for the Ballon d’Or :
KARIM BENZEMA: Real Madrid/France.
ROBERT LEWANDOWSKI: FC Bayern Munich/Poland.
CRISTIANO RONALDO: Manchester United/Portugal.
KYLIAN MBAPPE: Paris Saint-Germain/France.
HARRY KANE: Tottenham Hotspur/England.
KEVIN DE BRUYNE: Manchester City/Belgium.
LIONEL MESSI: Paris Saint-Germain/Argentina.
ROMELU LUKAKU: Chelsea FC/Belgium.
ERLING HAALAND: Borussia Dortmund/Norway.
NEYMAR: Paris Saint-Germain/Brazil.
RUBEN DIAS: Manchester City/Portugal.
NICOLO BARELLA: Inter Milan/Italy.
JORGINHO: Chelsea FC/Italy.
RIYAD MAHREZ: Manchester City/Algeria.
GIRGIO CHIELLINI: Juventus/Italy.
N’GOLO KANTE: Chelsea FC/France.
PEDRI: FC Barcelona/Spain.
LUIS SUAREZ: Atletico Madrid/Uruguay.
RAHEEM STERLING: Manchester City/England.
GIANLUIGI DONNARUMMA: Paris Saint-Germain/Italy.
PHIL FODEN: Manchester City/England.
MASON MOUNT: Chelsea FC/England.
GERARD MORENO: Villarreal FC/Spain
LUKA MODRIC: Real Madrid/Croatia.
LEONARDO BONUCCI: Juventus/Italy.
SIMON KJAER: AC Milan/Denmark.
BRUNO FERNANDES: Manchester United/Portugal
CESAR AZPILICUETA: Chelsea FC/Spain
LAUTARO MARTINEZ: Inter Milan/Argentina
MOHAMED SALAH: Liverpool FC/Egypt
The Ballon d’Or has been awarded by French soccer newspaper France Football since 1956. The ceremony — hosted, among others, by Chelsea legend Didier Drogba — will then take place on Nov. 29 at 8:30 p.m. in Paris. The best male and female player, the best goalkeeper and the best young player will be awarded.
