Another English Premier League club Manchester City, with five players, are the second-most dominated club in the 30-member Ballon d’Or shortlist of 2019.
Virgil van DIjk (L) and Lionel Messi. (Photo: Getty Images)
Argentine forward Lionel Messi and Dutch centre back Virgil ban Dijk are expected to be the frontrunners to win the Ballon d ‘Or 2019 after the 30-man shortlist was announced for the coveted prize of France Football magazine on Monday. Premier League club Liverpool dominated the list with seven players.
Along with Van Dijk, his clubmates Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Georginio Wijnaldum and Alisson Becker are also there on the list. Manchester City, with five players in the form of Raheem Sterling, Riyad Mahrez, Kevin de Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and Sergio Aguero, are the second-most dominated club in the shortlist.
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Messi’s age-old rival and Juventus player Cristiano Ronaldo has also found his spot in the list. Argentine’s Barcelona teammates Antoine Griezmann, Frenkie de Jong and goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen have been named in the list.
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Former Barca and current Paris Saint Germain (PSG) footballer Neymar has surprisingly been left out. Manchester United playmaker Paul Pogba, Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kante and Tottenham Hotspur captain Harry Kane were the other high-profile omissions.
Real Madrid’s Croatian footballer Luka Modric has also failed to find his name among the 30 players. Thus, Modric, who won the prize in 2018, has become the first Ballon d’Or winner in history to not make it to the shortlist in the following year.
Here’s the 30-member shortlist for men’s Ballon d’Or 2019
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.
Barcelona- Lionel Messi, Antoine Griezmann, Frenkie de Jong, Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
Tottenham Hotspur- Son Heung-min, Hugo Lloris.
Real Madrid- Eden Hazard, Karim Benzema.
Juventus- Cristiano Ronaldo, Matthijs de Ligt.
Ajax Amsterdam- Dusan Tadic, Donny van de Beek.
Paris St Germain- Kylian Mbappe, Marquinhos.
Bayern Munich- Robert Lewandowski.
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