The awarding of the Ballon d’Or has become one of the biggest nights in the footballing calendar, with winning the prize seen by players as the pinnacle of excellence in the sport.
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have dominated the award in the 21st century, winning it 11 times between them in the last 12 years. 30 favourites names have shortlisted for the 2021 Ballon d’Or.
As organisers prepare for the ceremony scheduled to take place in November after a COVID-19-stricken year, the trio are the frontrunners to pick up the award.
But only one player will go home with one of the world’s most prestigious individual awards.
The 30-man list of players comprises a goalkeeper, five defenders, nine midfielders, and 15 forwards drawn from various football clubs across Europe.
Five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo looks to match the record of six awards set by Messi, following a brilliant performance last season.
Before finding his way back to Manchester United since his departure in 2009, the 36-year-old netted 36 goals and made four assists for Juventus.
Just like his Portuguese counterpart, Messi was crucial to Barcelona’s performance last season, although the Spanish side failed to add a trophy to their cabinet.
Messi is the current holder after claiming his sixth Ballon d’Or back in December, and the Argentine will now continue his defence through to 2021 after France Football announced the prize would not be awarded in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
If that decision had not been made, who would have been in contention?
Full list of the 30 footballers shortlisted for this year’s Ballon d’Or below:
Goalkeeper
Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG)
Defenders
Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus)
Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus)
Simon Kjær (AC Milan)
Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea)
Ruben Dias (Manchester City)
Midfielders
N’Golo Kante (Chelsea)
Mason Mount (Chelsea)
Nicolo Barella (Inter Milan)
Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United)
Pedri (Barcelona)
Luka Modric (Real Madrid)
Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City)
Jorginho (Chelsea)
Phil Foden (Manchester City)
Forwards
Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City)
Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund)
Harry Kane (Tottenham)
Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)
Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)
Lionel Messi (PSG)
Neymar (PSG)
Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan)
Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
Romelu Lukaku (Chelsea)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
Kylian Mbappe (PSG)
Gerard Moreno (Villarreal)
Luis Suarez (Atletico Madrid)
