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What's the story?
Portuguese ace Cristiano Ronaldo has beaten Argentine counterpart to a Ballon d'Or record, becoming the first player in history to be nominated for the prestigious award a staggering fifteen times.
In case you didn't know...
France Football recently released its list of thirty nominees for the 2018 edition of the prestigious Ballon d'Or award.
The award is Europe's highest and oldest honour, and has been presented by France Football every year since 1956.
The winner is voted for by 173 journalists around the world, with one representative per nation, while the list of nominees is compiled by the editorial staff of the French publication.
France Football's thirty-man nominee list includes - Sergio Aguero, Alisson Becker, Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema, Edinson Cavani, Thibaut Courtois, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kevin De Bruyne, Roberto Firmino, Diego Godin, Antoine Griezmann, Eden Hazard, Isco, Harry Kane, N’Golo Kante, Hugo Lloris, Mario Mandzukic, Sadio Mane, Marcelo, Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi, Luka Modric, Neymar, Jan Oblak, Paul Pogba, Ivan Rakitic, Sergio Ramos, Mohamed Salah, Luis Suarez, and Raphael Varane.
The heart of the matter
When France Football announced their thirty-man shortlist for the Ballon d'Or on Monday, Cristiano Ronaldo became the only player to have been nominated for the award a record fifteen times (between 2004 to 2018).
Argentina and Barcelona ace Lionel Messi follows in second place as he was nominated for the thirteenth time (between 20016 and 2018).
The duo have won the Ballon d'Or award a record five times each.
What next?
The winner of the award will be announced on December 3 in the French capital.
Whether either of the two aces will win a record-breaking sixth Ballon d'Or remains to be seen as this edition has a host of new favourites - Luka Modric, Mohamed Salah, Kylian M'bappe- to break the two-man monopoly.
