Ronaldo, Messi and Neymar named on 30-man shortlist

Cristiano Ronaldo will be the favourite to retain the Ballon dOr for the 5th time as he has been named on the 30-man shortlist alongside the likes of Lionel Messi, Neymar, Luis Suarez, Harry Kane and Robert Lewandowski.

The Ballon d'Or was initially distinct from FIFA's World Player of the Year award, but the two merged in 2010 to become the FIFA Ballon d'Or. However, that merger lasted just five years and the Ballon d'Or became separate from FIFA again in 2016, with the world governing body subsequently creating the new 'The Best' awards series.

Below is the full list of nominees

Ballon d'Or 2017 nominees: Neymar (PSG), Luka Modric (Real Madrid), Paulo Dybala (Juventus), Marcelo (Real Madrid), N'Golo Kante (Chelsea), Luis Suarez (Barcelona), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Philippe Coutinho (Liverpool), Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid), Dries Mertens (Napoli), Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City), Harry Kane (Tottenham), Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich), David De Gea (Manchester United), Edin Dzeko (Roma), Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid), Toni Kroos (Real Madrid), Gianluigi Buffon (Juventys), Sadio Mane (Liverpool), Radamel Falcao (Monaco), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Borussia Dortmund), Edinson Cavani (PSG), Mats Hummels (Bayern), Karim Benzema (Real Madrid), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Eden Hazard (Chelsea), Leonardo Bonucci (AC Milan), Isco (Real Madrid), Kylian Mbappe (PSG)