THE BALLON D’OR ceremony takes place in Paris tonight, with Lionel Messi the hot favourite to take home his eighth gong.
The Argentine, 36, is set to be crowned the greatest player on the planet after leading Argentina to victory at the 2022 Qatar World Cup.
Messi already leads the way as the player who’s won the award most with seven Ballon d’Ors to his name – two more than his nearest rival, Cristiano Ronaldo.
The lavish ceremony will take place at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris from 6pm on Monday night, with football’s biggest names also attending.
Messi will be joined by Erling Haaland, the second favourite to pick up the award after his 51 goals last season for Manchester City, alongside the likes of Kylian Mbappe.
Haaland is one of six Manchester City players to make up the 30-man list alongside Josko Gvardiol, Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Ruben Dias and Julian Alvarez.
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Other Premier League nominees include Liverpool star Mohamed Salah, Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana, Arsenal duo Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard and Aston Villa keeper Emiliano Martinez.
Men’s Ballon D’or nominees
- Josko Gvardiol (RB Leipzig and Manchester City)
- Andre Onana (Inter Milan and Manchester United)
- Karim Benzema (Real Madrid and Al-Ittihad)
- Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
- Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich)
- Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)
- Randal Kolo Muani (Eintracht Frankfurt and Paris Saint-Germain)
- Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid)
- Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)
- Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
- Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Napoli)
- Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa)
- Ruben Dias (Manchester City)
- Nicolo Barella (Inter Milan)
- Erling Haaland (Manchester City)
- Martin Odegaard (Arsenal)
- Ilkay Gundogan (Manchester City and Barcelona)
- Yassine Bounou (Sevilla and Al-Hilal)
- Julian Alvarez (Manchester City)
- Vinicius Jr (Real Madrid)
- Rodrigo (Manchester City)
- Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Miami)
- Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid)
- Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan)
- Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona)
- Kim Min-jae (Napoli and Bayern Munich)
- Luka Modric (Real Madrid)
- Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-German)
- Victor Osimhen (Napoli)
- Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur and Bayern Munich)
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There is also a separate award for goalkeepers under the Yashin trophy and Premier League nominee’s include Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsdale, Manchester United’s Andre Onana, Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martinez and Manchester City’s Ederson.
Yashin award nominees
- Brice Samba (Lens)
- Dominik Livakovic (Dinamo Zagreb and Fenerbahce)
- Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal)
- Andre Onana (Inter Milan and Manchester United)
- Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa)
- Ederson (Manchester City)
- Marc-Andre Ter Stegen (Barcelona)
- Mike Maignan (AC Milan)
- Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid)
- Yassine Bounou (Sevilla and Al-Hilal)
Real Madrid and England superstar Jude Bellingham is the hot favourite to take home the Kopa Trophy, the award for the best player under the age of 21.
Kopa Trophy Nominees
- Xavi (RB Leipzig / PSV Eindhoven)
- Jamal Musiala (FC Bayern)
- Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund / Real Madrid)
- Alejandro Balde (FC Barcelona)
- Eduardo Camavinga (Real Madrid)
- Gavi (FC Barcelona)
- Rasmus Höjlund (Atalanta / Manchester United)
- Pedri (FC Barcelona)
- Antonio Silva (Benfica)
- Elye Wahi (HSC Montpellier / RC Lens)
England stars Millie Bright, Rachel Daly and Mary Earps are all nominated for the women’s award, which was won by Barcelona star Alexia Putellas last year.
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Women’s Ballon D’or Feminin Nominees
- Daphne Van Domselaar (Twente and Aston Villa)
- Lena Oberdorf (Vfl Wolfsburg)
- Hinata Miyazawa (MyNavi Sendai)
- Millie Bright (Chelsea)
- Salma Paralluelo (Barcelona)
- Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns)
- Hayley Raso (Manchester City and Real Madrid)
- Amanda Ilestedt (Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal)
- Georgia Stanway (Bayern Munich)
- Olga Carmona (Real Madrid)
- Fridolina Rolfo (Barcelona)
- Rachel Daly (Aston Villa)
- Alba Redondo (Levante)
- Lina Caicedo (Real Madrid)
- Kadidiatou Diani (Paris Saint-Germain and Olympique Lyonnais)
- Patricia Guijarro (Barcelona)
- Ewa Pajor (Vfl Wolfsburg)
- Guro Reiten (Chelsea)
- Sam Kerr (Chelsea)
- Debinha (North Carlina Courage and Kansas City Current)
- Aitana Bonmati (Barcelona)
- Alexandra Popp (Vfl Wolfsburg)
- Yui Hasegawa (Manchester City)
- Jill Roord (Vfl Wolfsburg and Manchester City)
- Katie McCabe (Arsenal)
- Wendie Renard (Olympique Lyonnais)
- Asisat Oshoala (Barcelona)
- Mary Earps (Manchester United)
- Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw (Manchester City)
- Mapi Leon (Barcelona)
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
