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France Football have announced their 30-man short list for the 2016 Ballon d’Or, with some new faces as well as some regulars making up the list.
The shortlist was announced in six groups of five on Monday October 25, with only a few surprises on the list.
Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy have been named from English champions Leicester City, while Rui Patricio is the only player named who doesn’t currently ply their trade in either the English, German, Spanish or Italian leagues.
The award has been dominated by European heavyweight clubs like Barcelona FC, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich in recent years. This year’s shortlist features six players from Real, four each from Barcelona and Bayern Munich, with three each from Juventus and Atletico Madrid.
Manchester United’s Paul Pogba has been named, although presumably from his time with Juventus rather than for his less than impressive start for the Red Devils.
And despite the list featuring some new talent, few are expecting the ongoing duopoly to be broken this year. Current holder Lionel Messi and La Liga rival Cristiano Ronaldo have taken out every FIFA Ballon d’Or since 2008, with Messi winning five and Ronaldo three.
Ronaldo is heavily favoured to win this year, after having led Real Madrid to Champions League glory and Portugal to Euro 2016 success. Real currently sit atop La Liga after nine rounds, although Ronaldo has not hit his usual heights since his return from a knee ligament injury.
Roberto Carlos expects Cristiano Ronaldo to add to the trophy cabinet this year ? pic.twitter.com/NoeQELYXPR
— Bleacher Report UK (@br_uk) 17 de octubre de 2016
Reigning African player of the year, Dortmund striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was also shortlisted for the award, his first nomination for the award.
Full list (in order of announcement)
Sergio Aguero (Manchester City)
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Borussia Dortmund)
Gareth Bale (Real Madrid)
Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)
Paulo Dybala (Juventus)
Diego Godin (Atletico Madrid)
Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid)
Gonzalo Higuain (Juventus)
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Manchester United)
Andres Iniesta (Barcelona)
Koke (Atletico Madrid)
Toni Kroos (Real Madrid)
Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich)
Luka Modric (Real Madrid)
Riyad Mahrez (Leicester)
Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Hugo Lloris (Tottenham)
Dimitri Payet (West Ham)
Paul Pogba (Manchester United)
Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich)
Pepe (Real Madrid)
Neymar (Barcelona)
Rui Patricio (Sporting)
Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid)
Luis Suarez (Barcelona)
Jamie Vardy (Leicester City)
Arturo Vidal (Bayern Munich)
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