By Anna Italia
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France Football magazine announcing the 30-man shortlist for the 2016 Ballon d’Or Award on Monday 24 October 2016. There are 3 players from the Italian Serie A among the candidates: Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, Juventus forward (ex-Napoli) Gonzalo Higuain, Juventus forward Paulo Dybala. Listed also is the ex Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba who trasferred this season to Manchester United. The winner will be named on Monday 9 January 2017.
- France Football has given the award every year since 1956. The past six editions: four won by Barcelona forward Lionel Messi, two by Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo . These awards have been known as the FIFA Ballon d’Or but football’s world governing body are no longer associated with it. The last player other than Messi or Ronaldo to win the award in either guise was Kaká in 2007 while playing for AC Milan.
Complete 30-man shortlist for the 2016 Ballon d’Or
Sergio Agüero (Manchester City & Argentina)
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Borussia Dortmund & Gabon)
Gareth Bale (Real Madrid & Wales)
Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus & Italy)
Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City & Belgium)
Paulo Dybala (Juventus & Argentina)
Diego Godín (Atlético Madrid & Uruguay)
Antoine Griezmann (Atlético Madrid & France)
Gonzalo Higuaín (Napoli/Juventus & Argentina)
Zlatan Ibrahimović (Paris Saint-Germain/Manchester United & Sweden)
Andrés Iniesta (Barcelona & Spain)
Koke (Atlético Madrid & Spain)
Toni Kroos (Real Madrid & Germany)
Robert Lewandowski (Bayern München & Poland)
Hugo Lloris (Tottenham Hotspur & France)
Riyad Mahrez (Leicester City & Algeria)
Lionel Messi (Barcelona & Argentina)
Luka Modrić (Real Madrid & Croatia)
Thomas Müller (Bayern München & Germany)
Manuel Neuer (Bayern München & Germany)
Neymar (Barcelona & Brazil)
Dimitri Payet (West Ham & France)
Pepe (Real Madrid & Portugal)
Paul Pogba (Juventus/Manchester United & France)
Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid & Spain)
Rui Patrício (Sporting CP & Portugal)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid & Portugal)
Luis Suárez (Barcelona & Uruguay)
Jamie Vardy (Leicester City & England)
Arturo Vidal (Bayern München & Chile)
Photo: facebook.com/uefachampionsleague
Nominees by current club
Atlético: 3
Barcelona: 4
Bayern: 4
Dortmund: 1
Juventus: 3
Leicester: 2
Manchester City: 2
Manchester United: 2
Real Madrid: 6
Sporting: 1
Tottenham: 1
West Ham: 1
Nominees by nationality
Algeria: 1
Argentina: 4
Belgium: 1
Brazil: 1
Chile: 1
Croatia: 1
England: 1
France: 4
Gabon: 1
Germany: 3
Italy: 1
Poland: 1
Portugal: 3
Spain: 3
Sweden: 1
Uruguay: 2
Wales: 1