TheCable

The nominees for the 2017 Ballon d’Or have been announced.

Senegalese striker Sadio Mane, who plays for Liverpool FC, and Borrusia Dortmund’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang are the only Africans in the running.

The usual suspects, Neymar, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Lionel Messi were included on the shortlist.

The prestigious award, which was aligned with FIFA from 2010 to 2015, has been won by either Ronaldo or Messi for the past nine years.

Atlético Madrid duo Antonio Griezmann and Jan Oblak were also included as well as Tottenham’s Harry Kane, Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea and Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne.

Eden Hazard and N’Golo Kante are the two Chelsea players nominated for the award.

The Ballon d’Or is now judged by a panel of journalists after FIFA and France Football ended their partnership in 2015.

Below are the 2017 Ballon d’Or nominees.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Borussia Dortmund)
Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)
Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus)
Edinson Cavani (PSG)
Philippe Coutinho (Liverpool)
Kevin De Bruyne (Man City)
David de Gea (Man Utd)
Paulo Dybala (Juventus)
Edin Dzeko (Roma)
Radamel Falcao (Monaco)
Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid)
Mats Hummels (Bayern Munich)
Harry Kane (Tottenham)
N’Golo Kante (Chelsea)
Toni Kroos (Real Madrid)
Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
Sadio Mane (Liverpool)
Marcelo (Real Madrid)
Dries Mertens (Napoli)
Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Luka Modric (Real Madrid)
Neymar (PSG)
Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid)
Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid)
Luis Suarez (Barcelona)