Dutch centre back Virgil van Dijk is one of seven Liverpool players on the 30-man shortlist for this year’s Ballon d’Or, with the Champions League winners dominating the nominations for France Football magazine’s prestigious award.
Van Dijk’s club teammates Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Georginio Wijnaldum and Alisson are also on the list, along with Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling, Riyad Mahrez, Kevin de Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and Sergio Aguero.
Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo and Barcelona’s Lionel Messi, who have won the award 10 times between them, are included, but Messi’s former teammate Neymar, who now plays for Paris St Germain, missed out.
Tottenham Hotspur striker Son Heung-min and goalkeeper Hugo Lloris made the cut, but there was no room for their teammate Harry Kane, while Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba was another high-profile omission.
Shortlist—Liverpool: Virgil van Dijk, Roberto Firmino, Alisson,Georginio Wijnaldum, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Sadio Mane, Mohammed Salah; Manchester City: Bernardo Silva, Riyad Mahrez, Kevin de Bruyne, Raheem Sterling, Sergio Aguero; Tottenham Hotspur: Son Heung-min, Hugo Lloris; Barcelona: Lionel Messi, Antoine Griezmann, Frenkie de Jong, Marc-Andre ter Stegen; Real Madrid: Eden Hazard, Karim Benzema; Juventus: Cristiano Ronaldo; Matthijs de Ligt, Bayern Munich: Robert Lewandowski; Ajax Amsterdam: Dusan Tadic, Donny van de Beek; PSG: Kylian Mbappe; Marquinhos; Arsenal: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang; Napoli: Kalidou Koulibaly; Atletico Madrid: Joao Felix.
