Ballon d’Or Nominees are here, Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mané, N’golo Kanté & More Get Nominated

It’s that time of the year for Football fans all over the world, the prestigious Ballon d’Or award, one of soccer’s highest individual honors is around the corner and the nomination list is here.

Egyptian striker Mohamed Salah, who had a record-breaking season with Liverpool last year, Senegalese Sadio Mané, who played a vital role in Liverpool’s season and led Senegal during the World Cup, joined by f World Cup-winning players from the France team including N’golo Kanté, Kylian Mbappé, Paul Pogba are all fan favorites.

The list also includes other top contenders like Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Luka Modric, Harry Kane, Gareth Bale, and several others.

This year will mark the inaugural women’s Ballon d’or award, which includes nominations for Dutch midfielder Lieke Martens, Brazilian star Marta, American Megan Rapinoe, and more. 2018 also marks the first Kopa trophy, a new award for the best player under 21 years of age, which voted for by the previous 33 winners of the main Ballon d’or award

See the list of nominees below.

Men’s award: Sergio Agüero (Manchester City), Alisson Becker (Liverpool), Gareth Bale (Real Madrid), Karim Benzema (Real Madrid), Edinson Cavani (PSG), Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid), Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City), Roberto Firmino (Liverpool), Diego Godín (Atlético Madrid), Antoine Griezmann (Atlético Madrid), Eden Hazard (Chelsea), Isco (Real Madrid), Harry Kane (Tottenham), N’golo Kanté (Chelsea), Hugo Lloris (Tottenham), Mario Mandzukic (Juventus), Sadio Mané (Liverpool), Marcelo (Real Madrid), Kylian Mbappé (PSG), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Luka Modric (Real Madrid), Neymar (PSG), Jan Oblak (Atlético Madrid), Paul Pogba (Manchester United), Ivan Rakitic (Barcelona), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Luis Suárez (Barcelona), Raphaël Varane (Real Madrid).

Nominees for the Women’s Ballon d’Or: Lucy Bronze (Lyon), Pernille Harder (Werder Brême), Ada Hegerberg (Lyon), Amandine Henry (Lyon), Lindsey Horan (Portland Thorns), Fran Kirby (Chelsea), Sam Kerr (Red Stars Chicago), Saki Kumagai (Lyon), Amel Majri (Lyon), Dzsenifer Marozsan (Lyon), Marta (Orlando Pride), Lieke Martens (Barcelona), Megan Rapinoe (Seattle Reign), Wendie Renard (Lyon), Christine Sinclair (Portland Thorns).

Nominees for the Trophée Kopa: Houssem Aouar (Lyon), Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Patrick Cutrone (Milan), Ritsu Doan (Groningue), Gianluigi Donnarumma (Milan), Amadou Haidara (Red Bull Salzbourg), Justin Kluivert (Roma), Kylian Mbappé (PSG), Christian Pulisic (Borussia Dortmund), Rodrygo (Santos).

Adedayo Laketu

Adedayo Laketu is a creative inventor who's interested in curating a New Age for Africa across all mediums.

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