Full list of 2018 Ballon d’Or nominees revealed
France Football have on Monday the 8th of October revealed the 30 man short-list for the 2018 men’s Ballon d’Or award.
We have our 30 nominees for the 2018 Ballon d’Or France Football! #ballondor pic.twitter.com/M01sH5gspj
— #ballondor (@francefootball) October 8, 2018
They have also announced the 10 man shortlist for the inaugural Trophée Kopa award.
The 30 nominees
The full list of nominees and their respected nations/ clubs are as followed:
Sergio Agüero (ARG / Manchester City)
Alisson (BRE / Liverpool)
Gareth Bale (GAL / Real Madrid)
Karim Benzema (FRA / Real Madrid)
Edinson Cavani (URU / PSG)
Thibaut Courtois (BEL / Chelsea)
Cristiano Ronaldo (POR / Juventus Turin)
Kevin De Bruyne (BEL / Manchester City)
Roberto Firmino (BRE / Liverpool)
Diego Godin (URU / Atlético Madrid)
Antoine Griezmann (FRA / Atlético Madrid)
Eden Hazard (BEL / Chelsea)
Isco (ESP / Real Madrid)
Harry Kane (ANG / Tottenham)
N’Golo Kanté (FRA / Chelsea)
Hugo Lloris (FRA / Tottenham)
Mario Mandzukic (CRO / Juventus Turin)
Sadio Mané (SEN / Liverpool)
Marcelo (BRE / Real Madrid)
Kylian Mbappé (FRA / PSG)
Lionel Messi (ARG / FC Barcelone)
Luka Modric (CRO / Real Madrid)
Neymar (BRE / PSG)
Jan Oblak (SLO / Atlético Madrid)
Paul Pogba (FRA / Manchester United)
LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 24: Luka Modric of Real Madrid receives the trophy for The Best FIFA Men’s Player 2018 during the The Best FIFA Football Awards Show at Royal Festival Hall on September 24, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images)
Likely winners
Although there are 30 players nominated, many of which stand no real chance of winning.
Instead, the four most likely winners will be Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Luka Modric and Mohamed Salah.
Lionel Messi once again had a superb year with Barcelona and is likely to be among the top three nominees.
In 54 appearances for Barca last season, Messi scored 45 and assisted 18 as well as guiding them to another league title.
21/30
Lionel Messi
🇦🇷 Argentina
Forward
@FCBarcelona
3⃣1⃣ years old
5-times winner (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015)The nominees https://t.co/97jAzy0DYQ #ballondor pic.twitter.com/ZCS6t1xAOp
— #ballondor (@francefootball) October 8, 2018
Cristiano Ronaldo, on the other hand, played 44 games for Real Madrid, scored 44, assisted eight and won yet another Champions League with Los Blancos.
Ronaldo’s former teammate Luka Modric also had a great year.
Modric too, of course, won the Champions League with Madrid.
However, Modric would also be instrumental in getting Croatia to the final of the 2018 World Cup.
Modric also won the Golden Ball at the World Cup and has already won ‘The Best’ this year, beating Ronaldo and Salah.
22/30
Luka Modric
🇭🇷 Croatia
Midfielder
@realmadrid
3⃣3⃣ years oldThe nominees https://t.co/y3VLt9O2WY #ballondor pic.twitter.com/jf1GUMylt9
— #ballondor (@francefootball) October 8, 2018
The final likely winner is Mo Salah, Salah played 52, scored 44 and assisted 16 for Liverpool last season.
Related: Michael Owen on how he went from Ballon d’Or winner to struggling for playing time at Stoke…
Ex-AC Milan and Real Madrid star Kaka tips underdog pair for Ballon d’Or
