New Delhi: Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have dominated football for almost a decade.


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Opinions differ on who is better between them. Some say Messi is a natural, meanwhile, others say Ronaldo is a trained athlete, who has worked hard to be where he is. Whatever people say, both have worked hard to be regarded as the best players in the world currently.


Tonight is the Ballon d’Or ceremony, one of those moments, when one of the shortlisted nominees will add a piece of individual silverware to their list of honours.


The award is given by French publication France Football, based on votes from international journalists, national team coaches and captains. Leo Messi won the inaugural Ballon d'Or in 2010.


The Ballon d'Or is given to the best-performing football player around the world every year. Last year Cristiano won it, with Messi at second place, followed by Neymar.


When is the 2017 Ballon d'Or awards ceremony?


The ceremony will be held on 7th December, 11:45 PM Indian Standard Time, 6:45 PM GMT, and 7:45 PM local time.


Where is the 2017 Ballon d'Or awards ceremony being hosted?


The awards ceremony is being held in the French capital, Paris.


How to watch the 2017 Ballon d'Or awards ceremony?


The awards ceremony will be shown only in France on L'Equipe and lequipe.fr.


Who are the shortlisted players for the 2017 Ballon d'Or?


The 30-man shortlist for the Ballon d'Or are:


Pierre-Emerick Aubemyang - Borussia Dortmund


Edinson Cavani - Paris Saint-Germain


Philippe Coutinho - Liverpool


Luis Suarez - Barcelona


Jan Oblak - Atletico Madrid


Sergio Ramos - Real Madrid


Dries Mertens - Napoli


Radamel Falcao - Monaco


Sadio Mane - Liverpool


Gianluigi Buffon - Juventus


Antoine Griezmann - Atletico Madrid


Neymar - Paris Saint-Germain


N'Golo Kante - Chelsea 


Luka Modric - Real Madrid


Paulo Dybala - Juventus


Marcelo - Real Madrid


Edin Dzeko - Roma


Harry Kane - Tottenham


David De Gea - Manchester United


Robert Lewandowski - Bayern Munich


Kevin De Bruyne - Manchester City


Karim Benzema - Real Madrid


Toni Kroos - Real Madrid


Cristiano Ronaldo - Real Madrid


Eden Hazard - Chelsea


Leonardo Bonucci - AC Milan


Isco - Real Madrid 


Lionel Messi - Barcelona


Mats Hummels - Bayern Munich


Kylian Mbappe - Paris Saint-Germain