Neymar has been recognised following an eventful year that has seen the Brazil star impress for both his national team and Barcelona, before his world-record summer transfer to PSG. Former team-mate Luis Suarez, meanwhile, was one of Barca's key men last term, scoring 37 goals in all competitions.
Atletico Madrid's Antoine Griezmann, of course, was one of the final three in the 2016 Ballon d'Or, finishing third, and he continued his fine form for Diego Simeone's side with 26 goals in all competitions last season.
Real Madrid's Karim Benzema, meanwhile, played pivotal roles as Madrid won the Liga title, while Zinedine Zidane's side became the first team to win back-to-back Champions League titles, and is joined on the list by team-mates Sergio Ramos, Toni Kroos, Luka Modric, Marcelo, Isco and, of course, Cristiano Ronaldo, who became a European champion with national side Portugal alongside breaking a slew of records for club and country.
Juventus attacker Paulo Dybala is nominated alongside team-mate Gianluigi Buffon after enjoying a stand-out 2017, helping the Bianconeri to yet another Serie A title and the Champions League final.
Other nominees include Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski, Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Jan Oblak and Roma forward Edin Dzeko, who finished as Serie A's top goalscorer last season.
The full list of 2017 Ballon d'Or nominees:
| Player | Teams |
|---|---|
| Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid & Portugal |
| Eden Hazard | Chelsea & Belgium |
| Leonardo Bonucci | AC Milan & Italy |
| Isco Alcoron | Real Madrid & Spain |
| Kylian Mbappe | PSG & France |
| Neymar | PSG & Brazil |
| Luka Modric | Real Madrid & Croatia |
| Paulo Dybala | Juventus & Argentina |
| Marcelo | Real Madrid & Brazil |
| N'Golo Kante | Chelsea & France |
| Luis Suarez | Barcelona & Uruguay |
| Sergio Ramos | Real Madrid & Spain |
| Jan Oblak | Atletico Madrid & Slovenia |
| Philippe Coutinho | Liverpool & Brazil |
| Dries Mertens | Napoli & Belgium |
| Kevin De Bruyne | Manchester City & Belgium |
| Robert Lewandowski | Bayern Munich & Poland |
| David de Gea | Manchester United & Spain |
| Harry Kane | Tottenham & England |
| Edin Dzeko | Roma & Bosnia-Herzegovina |
| Antoine Griezmann | Atletico Madrid & France |
| Gianluigi Buffon | Juventus & Italy |
| Radamel Falcao | Monaco & Colombia |
| Sadio Mane | Liverpool & Senegal |
| Toni Kroos | Real Madrid & Germany |
| Lionel Messi | Barcelona & Argentina |
| Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang | Borussia Dortmund & Gabon |
| Edinson Cavani | PSG & Uruguay |
| Mats Hummels | Bayern Munich & Germany |
| Karim Benzema | Real Madrid & France |
WHAT IS THE BALLON D'OR?
The accolade is presented by the football magazine France Football and it first appeared in 1956, when it was popularly known as the European Footballer of the Year award due to the fact that it was initially restricted to European players. In 1995, it expanded to include players of any nationality at European clubs before being adapted to include all players from around the world in 2007.
The Ballon d'Or was initially distinct from FIFA's World Player of the Year award, but the two merged in 2010 to become the FIFA Ballon d'Or. However, that merger lasted just five years and the Ballon d'Or became separate from FIFA again in 2016, with the world governing body subsequently creating the new 'The Best' awards series.
Who has won the most Ballon d'Or awards?
Since its formation in 1956, the Ballon d'Or has been won by many different players, but no one has been as successful as Lionel Messi . The Barcelona star has won on five occasions, finishing in the top three a total of 10 times. Behind Messi is his long-time rival Cristiano Ronaldo with four awards and the Real Madrid talisman is hoping to pull level with the Argentine in 2017.After Messi and Ronaldo, just hree players have won the Ballon d'Or three times, with Johan Cruyff shining in the 1970s, while Michel Platini and Marco van Basten dominated the 1980s. Franz Beckenbauer , Ronaldo , Kevin Keegan , Alfredo di Stefano and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge have each been presented with the accolade twice.
Among the others to have won the award are George Best , Zinedine Zidane , Michael Owen and George Weah , while Kaka , who won in 2007, was the last person outside of Messi and Ronaldo to scoop the prize.
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