On Monday morning, the first five out of 30 candidates were announced to win the prestigious Best Football Player award - the "Ballon d'Or". The list includes Paris Saint-Germain star Neymar, Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modrić, defender Marcelo from the "Royal Club", Chelsea midfielder N'Golo Kanté, and Juventus striker Paulo Dybala. The remaining contenders to fight for the title of the best footballer will be revealed by Monday evening. Last year, Cristiano Ronaldo received the prestigious award for the fourth time. Only Lionel Messi has more golden balls - 5.
Five more contenders have been revealed to become the best player of the year. The nominees already aiming for this award include Barcelona forward Luis Suárez, as well as Spain's Sergio Ramos, who becomes the third Real Madrid player in the top 15. Another player competing in the La Liga league - Jan Oblak, goalkeeper for Atletico Madrid and Slovenia, Brazilian Philippe Coutinho from Liverpool, and Napoli's leader Dries Mertens.
After announcing half of the candidates for the Ballon d'Or award, it was revealed that Belgium and Manchester City player Kevin De Bruyne, Poland's national team and Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski, Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea, Tottenham Hotspur's striker Harry Kane, and Roma's Bosnian Edin Džeko enter the top fifteen.
In addition to the mentioned 15 players, another five players who are contenders for this title have been added. Among the nominees are two players from the Spanish league - Atletico Madrid striker Antoine Griezmann and Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos. Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, Liverpool forward Sadio Mane, and Monaco's goal-scoring leader Radamel Falcao are also vying for the title.
In the evening, the full list of all 30 contenders was revealed: in addition to the previously mentioned candidates, C.Ronaldo, E.Hazard, L.Bonucci, Isco, K.Mbappe, L.Messi, P.Aubameyang, E.Cavani, M.Hummels, and K.Benzema made the list.
