The thirty nominees for the Ballon d’Or have been announced. Lionel Messi, the 2019 winner, has a chance to renew his title at the Ballon d’Or gala on November 29 in Paris. His club Paris Saint-Germain is well represented with four candidates, but Chelsea and Manchester City (both five players) are the main suppliers.
Messi has won the trophy awarded by France Football six times in his career (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019) and is the record holder. Cristiano Ronaldo, good for five victories (2008, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017), has been nominated again this year. There are no Dutch among the nominated footballers. Last year Virgil van Dijk finished second, but due to his long-term knee injury, the Liverpool defender was not eligible for the prestigious award this year.
The winner of the Ballon d’Or is determined by a vote. Now that organizer France Football has put together a shortlist of thirty players, a selection of journalists – one from each FIFA football country – determines the winner together with the national coaches and captains of national teams. The journalists, players and national coaches are asked to choose a top five from the thirty names of the shortlist, based on a person’s individual and collective performance in the past year, quality of the player and taking into account the player’s career. The number one panelist receives six points, the number two five points, and so on. Finally, an overall ranking will follow.
The thirty nominees for the Ballon d’Or:
Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea)
Nicolo Barella (Inter Milan)
Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)
Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus)
Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus/Manchester United)
Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus)
Ruben Dias (Manchester City)
Gianluigi Donnarumma (AC Milan/Paris Saint Germain)
Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United)
Phil Foden (Manchester City)
Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund)
Jorginho (Chelsea)
Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur)
N’Golo Kante (Chelsea)
Simon Kjaer (AC Milan)
Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
Romelu Lukaku (Inter Milan/Chelsea)
Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City)
Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan)
Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint Germain)
Lionel Messi (Barcelona/Paris Saint Germain)
Luka Modric (Real Madrid)
Gerard Moreno (Villarreal)
Mason Mount (Chelsea)
Neymar (Paris Saint Germain)
Pedro (Barcelona)
Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)
Luis Suarez (Atletico Madrid)