Lionel Messi And Cristiano Ronaldo In Ballon D'Or Contention Again

Six-time winner Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, a five-time victor, were among the 30 names revealed for the Ballon d'Or award.

Six-time winner Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, a five-time victor, were among the 30 names revealed on Friday for the Ballon d'Or award. The serial favourites face competition that includes Kylian Mbappe, Neymar, Karim Benzema, Jorginho and N'Golo Kante who are also considered as leading runners in the list unveiled by France Football magazine. The prestigious award was not handed out in 2020 due to the pandemic. There are also 20 women in the running for their own prize to be announced in Paris on November 29.

French champions PSG can boast Messi, a winner in the Copa America this summer, and teammates Mbappe and Neymar who last season took the ambitious club to the Champions League last-four.

Italian midfielder Jorginho gets the nod after helping Chelsea to the Champions League title as well as playing a major role as Italy won the delayed Euro 2000.

Chelsea teammate Kante, man of the match in the Champions League semi-final and final, is also on the list.

Ronaldo, who was third in the 2019 Ballon d'Or vote behind Messi and Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk, sees former Real Madrid teammate Karim Benzema also nominated.