Who will win the Ballon d’Or?
DUTCH centre back Virgil van Dijk is one of seven Liverpool players on the 30-man shortlist for this year’s Ballon d’Or, with the Champions League winners dominating the nominations for France Football magazine’s prestigious award.
Van Dijk’s teammates Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Georginio Wijnaldum and Alisson are also on the list. Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling, Riyad Mahrez, Kevin de Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and Sergio Aguero are also in the list.
Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo and Barcelona’s Lionel Messi, who have won the award ten times between them, are included. Messi’s former teammate Neymar, who now plays for Paris St Germain, missed out. Tottenham Hotspur striker Son Heung-min and goalkeeper Hugo Lloris made the cut, but there was no room for their team mate Harry Kane, while Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba was another high-profile omission.
30-MAN SHORTLIST
Liverpool - Virgil van Dijk; Roberto
Firmino; Alisson; Georginio Wijnaldum; Trent Alexander-Arnold; Sadio Mane; Mohammed Salah Manchester City - Bernardo Silva; Riyad Mahrez; Kevin de Bruyne; Raheem Sterling; Sergio Aguero Tottenham Hotspur - Son
Heung-min; Hugo Lloris
Barcelona - Lionel Messi; Antoine Griezmann; Frenkie de Jong; Marc-Andre ter Stegen Real Madrid - Eden Hazard; Karim
Benzema Juventus - Cristiano Ronaldo; Matthijs de
Ligt Bayern Munich - Robert Lewandowski Ajax Amsterdam - Dusan Tadic; Donny van de Beek Paris St Germain - Kylian Mbappe;
Marquinhos
Arsenal - Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang Napoli - Kalidou Koulibaly
Atletico Madrid - Joao Felix