Cristiano Ronaldo will have Lionel Messi and Virgil van Dijk to compete with for this year's Ballon d'Or award, but not Neymar. The list of 30 candidates for the award was announced on Monday evening, with Premier League stars including Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero, Liverpool forward Sadio Mane and Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Hugo Lloris among the first five nominees revealed by <em>France Football</em>. They were joined by Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong and Ajax's former Southampton forward Dusan Tadic. Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold have also been included in the 30-strong list, as have Barcelona keeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Ajax midfielder Donny van de Beek. There is also a place for Paris Saint-Germain's World Cup winner Kylian Mbappe and another French striker, Karim Benzema of Real Madrid. Five-time winner Ronaldo's Juventus teammate Matthijs de Ligt is also listed. Liverpool's Alisson, Georginio Wijnaldum, Roberto Firmino and Van Dijk join fellow Champions League winner Mane and Alexander-Arnold among the candidates. They were included along with Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva, Spurs striker Son Heung-min and Bayern Munich's Poland international frontman Robert Lewandowski. Manchester City players Riyad Mahrez and Kevin De Bruyne, Napoli centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly and Atletico Madrid's Antoine Griezmann also made the grade. The final five nominees were Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah, Chelsea's Eden Hazard, PSG's Marquinhos, Liverpool midfielder Raheem Sterling and Atletico Madrid's Joao Felix. The 2018 Ballon d'Or was won by Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric. The Croatian was the first player in a decade to break the Messi-Ronaldo duopoly on the most coveted individual prize in football. Van Dijk was crowned Uefa Player of the Year in August, with Messi named Fifa's Best Men's Player the following month. <strong>Here is the list in full:</strong>
