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Ballon d'Or 2018: Bale, Kane, Messi, Ronaldo, Salah, Pogba, Aguero among nominees

Last updated on .From the section European Footballcomments418

Wales international Gareth Bale (left) and England forward Harry Kane
Gareth Bale (left) and Harry Kane crossed paths at Tottenham before the former left to join Real Madrid in 2013

Wales forward Gareth Bale and England striker Harry Kane are among the nominees for the 2018 Ballon d'Or.

The 30-man shortlist is dominated by Champions League winners Real Madrid, who have eight players nominated.

Chelsea's Eden Hazard, Liverpool's Mohamed Salah and Manchester City's Kevin de Bruyne are among 11 Premier League players on the list.

The Ballon d'Or, first presented in 1956, is given to the best player of the year.

A ceremony to announce the winner of the prestigious award will take place in Paris on 3 December, when a women's award will also be presented for the first time.

Manchester City's Sergio Aguero is a contender, as are Liverpool keeper Alisson and forwards Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino.

Paul Pogba, of Manchester United, Chelsea's N'Golo Kante and Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris are also selected.

Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo, who joined Juventus from Real Madrid in the summer, won last year's Ballon d'Or and is again a contender along with five-time winner Lionel Messi.

Tottenham's Kane, 25, who is shortlisted alongside team-mate Hugo Lloris, helped England reach the semi-finals of the World Cup in Russia, while 29-year-old Bale scored twice for Real Madrid in the Champions League win over Liverpool.

The shortlist:

2018 Ballon d'Or nominees
PositionCountryClub
Sergio AgueroForwardArgentinaManchester City
AlissonGoalkeeperBrazilLiverpool
Gareth BaleForwardWalesReal Madrid
Karim BenzemaForwardFranceReal Madrid
Kevin de Bruyne MidfielderBelgiumManchester City
Edinson CavaniForwardUruguayParis St-Germain
Thibaut CourtoisGoalkeeperBelgiumReal Madrid
Roberto FirminoForwardBrazilLiverpool
Diego GodinDefenderUruguayAtletico Madrid
Antoine GriezmannForwardFranceAtletico Madrid
Eden HazardForwardBelgiumChelsea
IscoMidfielderSpainReal Madrid
Harry KaneForwardEnglandTottenham
N'Golo KanteMidfielderFranceChelsea
Hugo LlorisGoalkeeperFranceTottenham
Mario MandzukicForwardCroatiaJuventus
Sadio ManeForwardSenegalLiverpool
MarceloDefenderBrazilReal Madrid
Kylian MbappeForwardFranceParis St-Germain
Lionel MessiForwardArgentinaBarcelona
Luka ModricMidfielderCroatiaReal Madrid
NeymarForwardBrazilParis St-Germain
Jan OblakGoalkeeperSloveniaAtletico Madrid
Paul PogbaMidfielderFranceManchester United
Cristiano RonaldoForwardPortugalJuventus
Ivan RakiticMidfielderCroatiaBarcelona
Sergio RamosDefenderSpainReal Madrid
Mohamed SalahMidfielderEgyptLiverpool
Luis SuarezForwardUruguayBarcelona
Raphael VaraneDefenderFranceReal Madrid

What is the Ballon d'Or?

The Ballon d'Or has been awarded by France Football every year since 1956, with former England international Sir Stanley Matthews the first winner.

The list is compiled by the editorial staff of the French publication, with the winner voted for by journalists from around the world, with one representative per nation.

For six years it combined with world football's governing body to become the Fifa Ballon d'Or.

However, Fifa ended its association with the award in September 2016.

At Fifa's awards in September, Croatia and Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric was named the world's best male player, while Brazil and Orlando Pride forward Marta won the best female player award.

Ballon d'Or winners: Ronaldo & Messi dominate since 2008
2008Cristiano RonaldoLionel MessiFernando Torres
2009Lionel MessiCristiano RonaldoXavi
2010Lionel MessiAndres IniestaXavi
2011Lionel MessiCristiano RonaldoXavi
2012Lionel MessiCristiano RonaldoAndres Iniesta
2013Cristiano RonaldoLionel MessiFranck Ribery
2014Cristiano RonaldoLionel MessiManuel Neuer
2015Lionel MessiCristiano RonaldoNeymar
2016Cristiano RonaldoLionel MessiAntoine Griezmann
2017Cristiano RonaldoLionel MessiNeymar

Comments

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418 comments

  • Comment posted by jpw, at 08:20 8 Oct 2018

    where is Carlton Palmer in this list? If he doesn't win it soon, this whole thing is a joke.

  • Comment posted by Charlie89, at 08:07 8 Oct 2018

    I thought we just had this and Modric won?

  • Comment posted by RugbyHouse, at 08:07 8 Oct 2018

    11.
    George Best has won it before and never played at a European Championship let alone a World Cup.

  • Comment posted by Andy, at 09:12 8 Oct 2018

    Drip feeding five nominees every hour or two over the course of the day? Is that where we've ended up? I'm out.

  • Comment posted by The Bhoy Saint, at 08:22 8 Oct 2018

    Reading some dross on here @24 especially.
    Messi wins the double in Spain, Golden boot winner for Europe's top scorer again, scored the best goal in the World Cup imo and has started the season on fire................again. His performance again Spurs alone should be enough lol.
    G O A T by a country mile.

    xx

  • Comment posted by Razz, at 08:16 8 Oct 2018

    GGMU?

    Go Get Mum's Underwear?

    That's Man Utd fans for you.

  • Comment posted by Oliver Tandy, at 08:58 8 Oct 2018

    why complain that its between two players each year? no one considered that they're miles better than all the other mortals that all you plastic fans drool over in the premier league?

  • Comment posted by The Bhoy Saint, at 08:54 8 Oct 2018

    Messi & CR have dominated this award for the simple reason they are the two best players on the planet with consistency unmatched anywhere else, to give it elsewhere just for a change of scenery makes a mockery of the whole thing - for me its gotta be Messi for reasons stated @29.
    Modric, Bale, Salah, Aguero - give me peace, not on the same planet as the wee man...
    x

  • Comment posted by MrBlueBurns, at 11:41 8 Oct 2018

    "The 30-man list of nominees will be revealed throughout the day."

    So wait until the end of the day for the story then and stop cheapening your content.

  • Comment posted by yido1981, at 10:05 8 Oct 2018

    Its la liga biased this award how else do you explain benzema who scored a whopping 5 goals last season for madrid

  • Comment posted by philip sayers, at 13:57 8 Oct 2018

    now im not joking but how can a player like Kane be compared with the likes of messi or Ronaldo etc.

  • Comment posted by You, at 13:30 8 Oct 2018

    Kane is garbage for crying out loud. His game revolves around falling down to win free kicks and claiming everyone elses goals.

  • Comment posted by Wakefield Owl, at 13:34 8 Oct 2018

    This Messi doesn't do it for Argentina is not accurate.

    2 Copa America Finals + one WC final. Player of tournament at 2014 WC.
    In qualifiers for 2018 WC he missed 8 games of which Argentina won one. In last game to qualify they had to play Ecuador away at altitude (historically poor record there). Messi scored a hat trick to ensure qualification.

    But he never does it for his country........

  • Comment posted by Michael182, at 11:51 8 Oct 2018

    CR did not win Portugal a Euro title, they were a better team when he was injured.

    The seeding and all the good teams playing each other got them to the final and for that he was injured.

  • Comment posted by Jonners19, at 09:32 8 Oct 2018

    Is a player who does not play Real Madrid or Barcelona even allowed to win this award.

  • Comment posted by BBC_User, at 15:13 8 Oct 2018

    Neymar is not on there yet, but he has received an Oscar nomination.

  • Comment posted by Crosseyed and Painless, at 14:00 8 Oct 2018

    Whoever the winner is, Kane will claim the Ballon d'Or his.

  • Comment posted by Doyley, at 12:09 8 Oct 2018

    Does anyone really care about this? The result is determined by the sponsors and doesn't take a view on talent. They never consider defenders or goalkeepers, who have different and especially these days, harder skills to harness.

    It's just another excuse to massage the egos of these precious footballers and for their sponsors to make more money....don't get sucked into it!

  • Comment posted by arichat15, at 20:06 8 Oct 2018

    Have you noticed that the team which has most players on it is Real Madrid. They did win the Champions League, but seriously why are eight of their players (out of 30 on the shortlist) on it when there are a lot better players in the world who just aren't recognised because their team isn't favoured by football pundits..

    Up vote if you think the football world is biased to Real.

  • Comment posted by User0085386304, at 11:30 8 Oct 2018

    @87 CDL

    Not sure why you mention the years 1284 & 1707. The constitution period re Wales is 1535 & 1542.

    Essentially, Wales & England were joined constitutionally.

    Which means if Wales is not a country then neither is England.

    The Welsh inhabited the British Isles long before the English set foot here.

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