Leicester City forwards Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez have made the 30-man shortlist for this year’s Ballon d’Or award alongside perennial favourites Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Messi and Ronaldo have won the last eight Ballon d’Or awards that were given out and this year, the award returns to being organised solely by France Football, ending a six-year association between the French magazine and world football governing body FIFA.
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Ronaldo, who scored 51 goals during the 2015/16 season, has been tipped to win the award this year, as the Portuguese star won the UEFA Champions League with Real Madrid, and the European Championship with Portugal.
Vardy and Mahrez – who becomes the first Algerian to be shortlisted for the award – have made the list thanks to their heroics in Leicester’s shock 2015-16 Premier League title-winning campaign.
Look out for your favourite soccer stars shortlisted below:
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 (Atlético Madrid), Antoine Griezmann (Atlético Madrid), Gonzalo Higuain (Napoli/Juventus), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (PSG/Manchester United) Andrés Iniesta (Barcelona), Koke (Atletico Madrid), Toni Kroos (Real Madrid), Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich), Hugo Lloris (Tottenham), Riyad Mahrez (Leicester), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Luka Modric (Real Madrid), Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich), Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Neymar (Barcelona), Dimitri Payet (West Ham United), Pepe (Real Madrid), Paul Pogba (Manchester United), Rui Patricio (Sporting Portugal), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Luis Suarez (Barcelona), Jamie Vardy (Leicester City), Arturo Vidal (Bayern Munich).
Among the high profile players missing in the shortlist include Chelsea’s Eden Hazard, Juventus pair Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini, as well as Bayern Munich defender Jerome Boateng.
A final three-man shortlist will be announced in December 2016 after the voting process has been completed.