Jorginho of Chelsea, Lionel Messi of Paris Saint-Germain, and Robert Lewandowski of Bayern Munich are among the men’s Ballon d’Or nominees.
Messi won the 2019 World Cup for the sixth time in a row.
When Argentina won Copa America in 2021, the forward won his first major international title.
Jorginho, an Italian midfielder, helped Chelsea win the Champions League last season before leading his country to victory at Euro 2020 in the summer.
Lewandowski, a Pole, won the 2020-21 European Golden Shoe after scoring 41 Bundesliga goals to help Bayern Munich win the German league title last season.
The 30-man shortlist for 2021 includes 14 Premier League players and five members of Italy’s European Championship-winning squad.
The Ballon d’Or is an annual award given by France Football to the world’s best footballer.
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the prize was not awarded in 2020 for the first time since 1956.
The winner will be announced on November 29 at Paris’ Theatre du Chatelet.
England’s Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund), Mason Greenwood (Manchester United), and Bakayo Saka (Arsenal) are among the ten nominees for the Kopa Trophy, which recognizes players under the age of 21.
The Yashin Trophy is awarded to the best goalkeeper in the world, and four Premier League players are on the 10-man shortlist: Chelsea and Senegal’s Edouard Mendy, Manchester City’s Brazilian Ederson, Leicester City’s Danish Kasper Schmeichel, and Aston Villa’s Argentine Emiliano Martinez.
Ballon d’Or nominees
Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea, Spain)
Nicolo Barella (Inter Milan, Italy)
Karim Benzema (Real Madrid, France)
Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus, Italy)
Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City, Belgium)
Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus, Italy)
Ruben Dias (Manchester City, Portugal)
Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG, Italy)
Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United, Portugal)
Phil Foden (Manchester City, England)
Erling Braut Haaland (Borussia Dortmund, Norway)
Jorginho (Chelsea, Italy)
Harry Kane (Tottenham, England)
N’Golo Kante (Chelsea, France)
Simon Kjaer (AC Milan, Denmark)
Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich, Poland)
Romelu Lukaku (Chelsea, Belgium)
Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City, Algeria)
Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan, Argentina)
Kylian Mbappe (PSG, France)
Lionel Messi (PSG, Argentina)
Luka Modric (Real Madrid, Croatia)
Gerard Moreno (Villarreal, Spain)
Mason Mount (Chelsea, England)
Neymar (PSG, Brazil)
Pedri (Barcelona, Spain)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United, Portugal)
Mohamed Salah (Liverpool, Egypt)
Raheem Sterling (Manchester City, England)
Luis Suarez (Atletico Madrid, Uruguay)
What is the Ballon d’Or?
France Football has been awarded the Ballon d’Or every year since 1956, with England’s Stanley Matthews being the first winner.
It was only open to European players until 1995 when it was expanded to include any player at a European club. It became accessible to the rest of the world in 2007.
The French magazine’s editorial staff compiles the 30-man list of nominees, with the winner chosen by journalists from around the world, with one representative from each nation.
It merged with Fifa’s awards from 2010 to 2015, but they split and the world governing body established its own awards again in 2016.