FIFA has disclosed the list of 30 nominees for the prestigious Ballon d’Or award. The awards will take place on November 29, 2021, in Paris. FIFA published the list of both men and women Ballon d’Or nominees along with several other categories. Last year, the awards were cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Lionel Messi, who has recently moved to Paris Saint Germain (PSG) from Barcelona has won this award the most number of times. Manchester United’s star Cristiano Ronaldo is in the second position with five awards in his trophy cabinet.
Here are the nominees
The nominees for the men’s Ballon d’Or are Cesar Azpilicueta, Nicolo Barella, Karim Benzema, Leonardo Bonucci, Kevin De Bruyne, Giorgio Chiellini, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ruben Dias, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Bruno Fernandes, Phil Foden, Erling Haaland, Jorginho, N'Golo Kanté, Simon Kjaer, Robert Lewandowski, Romelu Lukaku, Riyad Mahrez, Lautaro Martinez, Kylian Mbappé, Lionel Messi, Luka Modric, Gerard Moreno, Mason Mount, Neymar, Pedri, Mohamed Salah, Raheem Sterling and Luis Suarez. Most number of players on the list are from Chelsea FC. They have five players out of 30 in the list.
Favorites to win the awards
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are the favourites to win the award once again. Messi had won Copa America with Argentina and Copa Del Rey in Spain when he was playing for Barcelona. Apart from them, Jorginho is also one of the contenders as he has won the Champions League with Chelsea and then went on to win EURO 2020 with his national team Italy. Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski and Chelsea’s Ngolo Kante are also top contenders for the prestigious award.
