Neymar, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo among nominees named for 30-man Ballon d'Or shortlist

Well, once again analysts reckon that Ronaldo will be the one to take home the trophy. An already four-time winner, it is highly expected that his name will be announced later into the day along with his old nemesis Lionel Messi.

IANS

New Delhi: Paris Saint-German and Brazil forward Neymar, joins his former Barcelona teammate Luiz Suarez on the list of nominees for the prestigious Ballon d'Or award. However, as of now, just 10 footballers have been confirmed for the 30-man list. Well, the Portuguese international Cristiano Ronaldo will still remain the favourite among the lot.

Award organisers France Football revealed the first 10 players of the list. Real Madrid duo of Marcelo and Luka Modric along with Juventus forward Paulo Dybala and Chelsea midfielder N'Golo Kante wrapped up the first five players with Neymar for the Ballon dÓr nominee list.

The first 5 nominees for the 2017 Ballon d'Or France Football : Neymar, Luka Modrić, Paulo Dybala, Marcelo, N’Golo Kanté #ballondor pic.twitter.com/QnyakD9bhw — France Football (@francefootball) October 9, 2017

Almost over an hour later, the organisers took to Twitter to reveal the next five – Real Madrid skipper Sergio Ramos, Liverpool midfielder Philippe Coutinho, Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Jan Oblak and Napoli forward Dries Mertens combined with Suarez to form the next five lot.

The next 5 nominees for the 2017 Ballon d'Or France Football : Suarez, Ramos, Oblak, Coutinho, Mertens #ballondor pic.twitter.com/7XCOGGOmed

— France Football (@francefootball) October 9, 2017

Neymar's only close attempt to bag the trophy came in 2015 when he broke into the last three list alongside eventual winner Lionel Messi and Ronaldo. He finished well behind the Real Madrid star to sit third on the list. Suarez, however, has been lucky enough to go atop in the nomination list despite his success at Barcelona.

Well, once again analysts reckon that Ronaldo will be the one to take home the trophy. Old nemesis Lionel Messi and last year's third place candidate Antoine Griezmann too found their name on the list.

The 30 nominees for the 2017 Ballon d'Or France Football ! #ballondor pic.twitter.com/TBRQwRvo4E — France Football (@francefootball) October 9, 2017