Ronaldo heads list for Ballon d’Or

LONDON:Cristiano Ronaldo, Eden Hazard, Kylian Mbappe, Harry Kane, Neymar, Lionel Messi, Kevin De Bruyne and Philippe Coutinho are just some of the star names on the 30-man Ballon d’Or shortlist for the 2017 award.

Ballon d’Or organisers France Football have released the first 25 names to be included on the shortlist and Neymar is joined by Premier League stars Kane, De Bruyne, Coutinho, Sadio Mane, N’Golo Kante and David De Gea.

Tottenham’s Kane has gained recognition for a 2016-17 season in which he won his second consecutive Premier League Golden Boot award.

The England striker is currently enjoying a rich vein of form and his winner against Lithuania on Sunday night was his 15th strike in his last ten matches for club and country.

Neymar’s £198million (RM1.1 billion) move to Paris Saint-Germain from Barcelona this summer was reportedly partly motivated by a desire to claim the award after finishing fifth in last year’s voting.

And the 25-year-old has settled in to life at the Parc des Princes quickly with eight goals in his opening eight matches in all competitions.

Barcelona superstar Messi is in with a chance of claiming a sixth Ballon d’Or title after scoring a remarkable 54 goals in 52 appearances last season. The Argentine has won the award more times than any other player - with five gongs.

Ronaldo remains the heavy favourite to defend his 2016 crown. He clinched last year’s title ahead of Messi and Atletico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann.

If Ronaldo wins this year he would equal Messi’s haul of five Ballon d’Ors. The rivals have shared the last nine awards between them since Ronaldo claimed his first in 2008 as a Manchester United player.

Daily Mail