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 the prestigious award.
Van Dijk’s team-mates 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 team mate 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 team mate Harry Kane, while Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba was another high-profile omission.
Ahead of the awards ceremony in December, we have ranked and rated the 30 contenders.
Check the above gallery to see how we rank the contenders.
Agree? Disagree? Let us know in the comments section below.
