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The 30-Man Ballon d'Or Shortlist Released By France Football

The 30-Man Ballon d'Or Shortlist Released By France Football

The nominees for the richest individual prize in football have been revealed..

Josh Lawless

Josh Lawless

France Football have released the 30-man shortlist for the 2019 Ballon d'Or award.

The Ballon d'Or has been awarded by the French magazine since 1956 and sees their editorial staff put together the initial 30-man shortlist.

The outlet are releasing nominees for the award in groups of five, with the next stage of the vote going to leading journalists from all over the globe (one vote per nation).

Last year, Luka Modric ended years of Ronaldo and Messi dominance when he scooped the award for winning a third Champions League in a row with Real Madrid - as well as captaining Croatia to the World Cup final.

Image: PA
Image: PA

This time around, however, the Croat has become the first player in history not to make the final 30 the following year.

It's widely expected that the final three will be the same trio that led the way in the FIFA Men's Best Player award: winner Messi, Ronaldo and Virgil van Dijk - the latter aiming to become the first defender since Fabio Cannavaro in 2006 to win the coveted award.

The winner of the prize will be named at a ceremony at Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris on December 2,along with the Women's Ballon d'Or, Kopa Trophy (Best under 21 player) and newly introduced Yachine Trophy - named after legendary former goalkeeper Lev Yashin.

Here is the list of nominees in full:


Featured Image Credit:

Topics: Football News, Football, Lionel Messi, Ballon d'Or, Virgil Van Dijk, Cristiano Ronaldo