Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo has been named among 30 nominees for the men’s Ballon d’Or trophy awarded by France Football magazine to the best player in the world.
The Portugal captain has won the award for the past two years and five times in all, a record he shares with Argentina’s Lionel Messi who is also on the list announced on Monday.
Ronaldo’s nomination comes after the 33-year-old last week denied rape allegations leveled against him by a woman who sued him in court in the United States.
Sportswear maker Nike and video game maker Electronic Arts, who both have worked with the five-times Champions League winner, said last Thursday they were concerned about the allegations.
Men’s nominees:
Sergio Aguero (Manchester City, Argentina)
Alisson (Liverpool, Brazil)
Gareth Bale (Real Madrid, Wales)
Karim Benzema (Real Madrid, France)
Edinson Cavani (Paris Saint-Germain, Uruguay)
Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid, Belgium)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus, Portugal)
Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City, Belgium)
Roberto Firmino (Liverpool, Brazil)
Diego Godin (Atletico Madrid, Uruguay)
Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid, France)
Eden Hazard (Chelsea, Belgium)
Isco (Real Madrid, Spain)
Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur, England)
N’Golo Kante (Chelsea, France)
Hugo Lloris (Tottenham Hotspur, France)
Mario Mandzukic (Juventus, Croatia)
Sadio Mane (Liverpool, Senegal)
Marcelo (Real Madrid, Brazil)
Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain, France)
Lionel Messi (Barcelona, Argentina)
Luka Modric (Real Madrid, Croatia)
Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain, Brazil)
Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid, Slovenia)
Paul Pogba (Manchester United, France)
Ivan Rakitic (Barcelona, Croatia)
Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid, Spain)
Mohamed Salah (Liverpool, Egypt)
Luis Suarez (Barcelona, Uruguay)
Raphael Varane (Real Madrid, France)
