Ballon d’Or shortlist: Lionel Messi, Ronaldo, Robert Lewandowski and Jorginho amongst 30 nominees

Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar Jr, Jorginho and N’Golo Kante have been named on the 30-man shortlist for the boys’s 2021 Ballon d’Or award. They are among the many main contenders for the prize handed out by France Football. Other celebrity footballers to get the nod embody Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappe, Karim Benzema and Romelu Lukaku.

Six-time winner Messi and Megan Rapinoe grabbed the awards the final time they had been held in 2019. Last yr the Ballon d’Or occasion was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. While upstaged lately by FIFA’s personal awards, the Ballon d’Or, whose first recipient was Stanley Matthews in 1956, stays one of the crucial coveted particular person awards in soccer.The prestigious Ballon d’Or might be awarded on November 29 in Paris, occasion organiser France Football journal had confirmed. Five Chelsea gamers are included within the 2021 Ballon d’Or checklist while Tottenham’s Harry Kane has additionally been nominated.Messi carried ex-club Barcelona on his again final season earlier than ending a 21-year affiliation with the Blaugrana by becoming a member of Paris Saint-Germain in the summertime. Notably, Messi scored 37 targets and 14 assists in 46 appearances this calendar yr.Ballon d’Or nomineesCesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea, Spain)Nicolo Barella (Inter Milan, Italy)Karim Benzema (Real Madrid, France)Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus, Italy)Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City, Belgium)Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus, Italy)Ruben Dias (Manchester City, Portugal)Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG, Italy)Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United, Portugal)Phil Foden (Manchester City, England)Erling Braut Haaland (Borussia Dortmund, Norway)Jorginho (Chelsea, Italy)Harry Kane (Tottenham, England)N’Golo Kante (Chelsea, France)Simon Kjaer (AC Milan, Denmark)Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich, Poland)Romelu Lukaku (Chelsea, Belgium)Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City, Algeria)Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan, Argentina)Kylian Mbappe (PSG, France)Lionel Messi (PSG, Argentina)Luka Modric (Real Madrid, Croatia)Gerard Moreno (Villarreal, Spain)Mason Mount (Chelsea, England)Neymar (PSG, Brazil)Pedri (Barcelona, Spain)Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United, Portugal)Mohamed Salah (Liverpool, Egypt)Raheem Sterling (Manchester City, England)Luis Suarez (Atletico Madrid, Uruguay)