On Friday evening, the "30-man list" of nominees for the Ballon d'Or, awarded by "France Football" to the best player of the year, was announced. The list included the top players who excelled during the last season, specifically in the tournaments that concluded in 2021.
The leaked list featured two Arab stars, Egyptian Mohamed Salah and Algerian Riyad Mahrez, alongside a selection of the world's elite players. The list also included rivals Argentine Lionel Messi and Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo, as well as young stars Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland.
It also featured Italian Jorginho, who shone in Euro 2020 with his national team, and European top scorer Robert Lewandowski. Additionally, the list included a "honorary" nomination for Denmark's captain Simon Kjaer, who played a crucial role in saving teammate Christian Eriksen from death during Euro 2020 and demonstrated leadership throughout the tournament, uniting Danish fans.
Here is the complete list of the thirty nominees for the Ballon d'Or:
From Italy: Jorginho (Chelsea), Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain), Giorgio Chiellini, and Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), Nicolò Barella (Inter Milan).
From England: Mason Mount (Chelsea), Raheem Sterling and Phil Foden (Manchester City), Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur).
From Spain: César Azpilicueta (Chelsea), Gerard Moreno (Villarreal), Pedri (Barcelona).
From France: Karim Benzema (Real Madrid), Kylian Mbappé (Paris Saint-Germain), N'Golo Kanté (Chelsea).
From Portugal: Cristiano Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United), Rúben Dias (Manchester City).
From Belgium: Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City), Romelu Lukaku (Chelsea).
From Argentina: Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain), Lautaro Martínez (Inter Milan).
From Norway: Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund).
From Croatia: Luka Modrić (Real Madrid).
From Denmark: Simon Kjaer (AC Milan).
From Poland: Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich).
From Egypt: Mohamed Salah (Liverpool).
From Algeria: Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City).
From Brazil: Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain).
From Uruguay: Luis Suárez (Atlético Madrid).
