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The Ballon d'Or is set to be awarded in December this year, after having been cancelled on account of COVID-19 last season. When talking about favourites for the prestigious award this year, it is impossible to leave out Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, who share 11 awards between them.
Messi is the current holder of the trophy, and following a good campaign with club and country for whom he won the Copa America, he has a decent chance of lifting the award again.
Ballon d'Or 30-man shortlist announced
Like every year since 2008, France Football has released the 30-man shortlist for the award and the usual suspects have all made it to the list, including Robert Lewandowski, who had an amazing 2020-21 campaign but missed out after the awards were cancelled last time around.
In this article, we will take a look at the five players with the most nominations in the 30-man shortlist in the award's history.
#5 Sergio Aguero - Seven nominations
Sergio Aguero established himself as one of the finest strikers in Premier League history before making a move to Barcelona in the summer. He is the top scoring overseas player in the English top-flight and helped Manchester City win five Premier League titles.
He won the Golden Boy Award in 2007 but could never make it into the top 3 of the Ballon d'Or standings despite being nominated seven times. Though he was part of the Copa America-winning Argentina squad in the summer, he did not make it onto the 30-man shortlist this year.
#4 Neymar - Eight nominations
Often said to be one of the greatest players of this generation, Neymar has found a place on this year's 30-man shortlist for the Ballon d'Or. The Brazilian forward certainly enjoyed the greatest spell of his career at Barcelona and achieved his best finish in the final Ballon d'Or standings during his time with the Catalan giants.
He finished third twice in 2017 and 2015 and fifth in 2016 and 2013. He has won everything there is at club level but was ruled out of the 2019 Copa America, which Brazil won.
While he has been impressive when he's on the pitch, he has had his fair share of injuries which have hindered him from reaching his full potential and that have hurt his chances of making a claim for the Ballon d'Or as well.
Also See: Top 10 football players with the most fans in the world
#3 Karim Benzema - 10 nominations
Karim Benzema is probably not the first name that comes to mind when talking about the Ballon d'Or but his performances have helped him be in contention for the award, at least in the early stages, with 10 appearances in the 30-man shortlist. Only Messi and Ronaldo have more nominations than the Frenchman.
Benzema has enjoyed a trophy-laden career with four league titles with Lyon and three La Liga titles for Real Madrid. He was also a key member of Real Madrid's squad that won three consecutive Champions League titles.
Since the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo from the Spanish club, he has been the main attacking force and his performances have been rewarded with a place in the 30-man shortlist for the Ballon d'Or yet again this year.
#2 Cristiano Ronaldo - 13 nominations
Cristiano Ronaldo is beyond doubt one of the greatest players to have graced football. He has consistently kept his numbers up and proven himself across three different leagues.
He won the EURO in 2016 with Portugal and with that added the one thing that was missing from his glistening career. He last won the Ballon d'Or in 2017, mostly because of his role in helping Real Madrid secure their 12th Champions League trophy.
He has five Ballon d'Ors to his name and his arch-rival Messi having taken the lead with a 2019 win over him, he will be hoping to bag the prize this time around to get back on level terms.
#1 Lionel Messi - 13 nominations
Messi is the holder of the award and many think he might be the favourite for the prestigious award again.
The left-footed forward left his childhood club Barcelona in the summer and moved to Paris Saint-Germain, where he is facing some trouble finding his feet and has scored just one goal so far.
It was the 15th nomination for the player, including the 2007 edition, where he finished third in the standings behind Ronaldo and winner Kaka. Before the 2008 edition, 50 players were selected for the final vote for the Ballon d'Or, hence we did not include the first two instances when Messi made it into the final shortlist.
Can the 34-year-old lift the Balon d'Or, especially given he won his first-ever international trophy with Argentina this year? Only time will tell.
