No matter how much FIFA try to sell the world their ‘The Best’ awards which took place the other week, there is no doubt that football’s real individual accolade is the Ballon d’Or, and today, the 30 nominees for France Football’s prestigious award have been announced which includes 11 names from the Premier League.
While Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have dominated the award for the last decade, 2018 could finally be the year that their stranglehold on the famous golden ball is broken, with the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Luka Modric making immeasurable contributions for both club and country.
Mo Salah is likely to be up there too after his sensational goalscoring heroics of the 2017/18 campaign with Liverpool, while Harry Kane wasn’t too far behind in terms of Premier League goals, and also bagged himself the golden boot at the World Cup.
Elsewhere, the Premier League is represented by Man City’s Sergio Aguero and Kevin de Bruyne, Liverpool’s Alisson, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino, Chelsea’s Eden Hazard and N’Golo Kante, Man Utd’s much maligned midfielder Paul Pogba, and Spurs’ Hugo Lloris, in a list that is dominated by stars that were prominant in the Champions League and World Cup
Full list of nominees
Sergio Aguero – Manchester CityHugo Lloris – Tottenham Hotspur
Alisson Becker – LiverpoolMario Mandzukic – Juventus
Gareth Bale – Real MadridSadio Mane – Liverpool
Karim Benzema – Real MadridMarcelo – Real Madrid
Edinson Cavani – PSGKylian Mbappe – PSG
Thibaut Courtois – Real MadridLionel Messi – Barcelona
Cristiano Ronaldo – JuventusLuka Modric – Real Madrid
Kevin de Bruyne – Manchester CityNeymar – PSG
Roberto Firmino – LiverpoolJan Oblak – Atletico Madrid
Diego Godin – Atletico MadridPaul Pogba – Manchester United
Antoine Griezmann – Atletico MadridIvan Rakitic – Barcelona
Eden Hazard – ChelseaSergio Ramos – Real Madrid
Isco – Real MadridMohamed Salah – Liverpool
Harry Kane – Tottenham HotspurLuis Suarez – Barcelona
N’Golo Kante – ChelseaRaphael Varane – Real Madrid