Lionel Messi heads the list of nominees for the men’s Ballon d’Or after leading Argentina to World Cup glory.
Erling Haaland, Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham and Bukayo Saka were also included on the 30-man shortlist for the prestigious prize published by organisers France Football on Wednesday.
Messi, already a record seven-time winner of the annual prize for world player of the year, is again the favourite.
The 36-year-old, who now plays his club football with Inter Miami, was his country’s chief inspiration as they triumphed in Qatar last winter, scoring seven goals in the tournament.
Haaland, who scored a remarkable 52 goals for treble-winning Manchester City last season, is one of seven players from the successful City side to make the list.
Former captain Ilkay Gundogan, who is now at Barcelona, another World Cup-winner in Julian Alvarez, Ruben Dias, Kevin De Bruyne, Rodri and Bernardo Silva were the others.
England captain Harry Kane is rewarded after scoring 40 goals for club and country before switching Tottenham for Bayern Munich. England team-mates Bellingham, who is now at Real Madrid, and Saka, of Arsenal, also enjoyed strong campaigns.
Other notable Premier League inclusions are Aston Villa’s World Cup-winning goalkeeper Emi Martinez, Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah and Arsenal’s Martin Odegaard.
Five-time winner Cristiano Ronaldo, who plays in Saudi Arabia for Al-Nassr, was not nominated for the first time since 2003.
England’s Rachel Daly, Georgia Stanway, Millie Bright and Mary Earps are on the shortlist for the women’s award following their run to the World Cup final.
Goalkeeper Earps won the Golden Glove after keeping four clean sheets in the tournament while Daly was also the top scorer in the Women’s Super League last season.
Aitana Bonmati of champions Spain is widely considered the favourite for the prize but team-mate Olga Carmona, scorer of the winning goal in the final, is also nominated.
Bellingham is also on the shortlist for the men’s young player of the year prize. New Manchester United signing Rasmus Hojlund, of Denmark, and Barcelona trio Gavi, Pedri and Alejandro Balde are also candidates.
Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsdale is nominated for goalkeeper of the year along with Martinez. They will face competition from Ederson of Manchester City and United’s former Inter Milan stopper Andre Onana, who is also on the list for the main award.
The winners will be announced at a ceremony in Paris on October 30.
Nashville SC v San Jose Earthquakes: ‘A win would change everything’ - Godoy
Anibal Godoy insists that Nashville are already looking at their game against San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday as a must-win.
Nashville have won just once in the MLS this season and sit in 14th place in the Eastern Conference after a run of four without a win.
The Earthquakes, meanwhile, are bottom of the Western Conference having lost eight of their matches and recording just one win.
Godoy is aware of how their poor start to the season could affect their playoff hopes later down the line but is confident that Nashville can turn things around.
He said: “For us, it's an important week. It's a day we have to win, or we'll start to feel the pressure from other teams as they start to separate in the table.
“This league is long but if we want to get to the playoff you have to win games early on, especially at home.”
Liverpool agree compensation deal for Slot
Liverpool and Feyenoord have reached an agreement in principle over a compensation deal for Arne Slot to become the Reds’ manager next season, according to widespread Dutch media reports.
The Dutchman is reportedly poised to take over from Jurgen Klopp, who announced in January that he would be leaving the club at the end of the campaign.
Slot led Feyenoord to their second Eredivisie title last season after taking over the club in 2021.
It is believed that he topped the list of Liverpool’s favoured candidates due to his attacking playing style and ability to develop players.
Former Liverpool midfielder, Xabi Alonso, who led Bayer Leverkusen to their first Bundesliga title, and Sporting CP’s Ruben Amorim were also reported contenders to take over from Klopp.
Slot had already confirmed his interest in managing in the Premier League, both earlier this week and previously when he was linked to Tottenham in 2023.
QPR 4-0 Leeds United: Shock loss for Farke's men seals Leicester's promotion
QPR thrashed Leeds United 4-0 in the Championship on Friday, ensuring Leicester City booked their promotion straight back to the Premier League.
Ilias Chair was the star for the Hoops as he scored the opener and assisted two more goals to ensure QPR will stay in the Championship for another season.
Lucas Andersen, Lyndon Dykes and Sam Field also got their names on the scoresheet in an emphatic win for Marti Cifuentes' side.
Leeds' heaviest defeat of the season was a huge blow in the race for an automatic promotion spot, with Ipswich Town just one point behind them in third place with two games in hand going into their away clash against Hull City on Saturday.
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