5 footballers with most Ballon d'Or 30-man shortlist appearances in history
The Ballon d'Or is set to be awarded in December this year, after having been cancelled on account of COVID-19 last season. When talking about favourites for the prestigious award this year, it is impossible to leave out Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, who share 11 awards between them.
Messi is the current holder of the trophy, and following a good campaign with club and country for whom he won the Copa America, he has a decent chance of lifting the award again.
Ballon d'Or 30-man shortlist announced
Like every year since 2008, France Football has released the 30-man shortlist for the award and the usual suspects have all made it to the list, including Robert Lewandowski, who had an amazing 2020-21 campaign but missed out after the awards were cancelled last time around.
Who should win the 2021 Ballon d'Or ?
Tweet your answer - favorite player with #ballondor ✨⭐️ https://t.co/hUlLgxVxOd
In this article, we will take a look at the five players with the most nominations in the 30-man shortlist in the award's history.
#5 Sergio Aguero - Seven nominations
Sergio Aguero established himself as one of the finest strikers in Premier League history before making a move to Barcelona in the summer. He is the top scoring overseas player in the English top-flight and helped Manchester City win five Premier League titles.
He won the Golden Boy Award in 2007 but could never make it into the top 3 of the Ballon d'Or standings despite being nominated seven times. Though he was part of the Copa America-winning Argentina squad in the summer, he did not make it onto the 30-man shortlist this year.
#4 Neymar - Eight nominations
Often said to be one of the greatest players of this generation, Neymar has found a place on this year's 30-man shortlist for the Ballon d'Or. The Brazilian forward certainly enjoyed the greatest spell of his career at Barcelona and achieved his best finish in the final Ballon d'Or standings during his time with the Catalan giants.
He finished third twice in 2017 and 2015 and fifth in 2016 and 2013. He has won everything there is at club level but was ruled out of the 2019 Copa America, which Brazil won.
De Bruyne, Neymar, Rúben Dias, Lautaro Martínez and Kjaer are nominated for the 2021 #BallondOr! https://t.co/T4mwJb8xfi
While he has been impressive when he's on the pitch, he has had his fair share of injuries which have hindered him from reaching his full potential and that have hurt his chances of making a claim for the Ballon d'Or as well.
Also See: Top 10 football players with the most fans in the world