The nominees for the 2021 Ballon d'Or

With almost two months to wait until we know the winner of the 2021 Ballon d'Or, France Football have released the 30 nominees for the award which didn't take place last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ceremony will take place on November 29, and with no clear favourite, we have one of the most open Ballon d'Or races in decades. From Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, to Robert Lewandowski and Jorginho, there are reasons for each nominee to be given the trophy.

Messi is the slight favourite after his phenomenal campaign with Barcelona, while Jorginho won the Champions League with Chelsea and Euro 2020 with Italy. Meanwhile, Lewandowski broke Gerd Muller's goalscoring record within a single Bundesliga season.

Gianluigi Donnarumma is the only goalkeeper to be nominated, with Manchester City and Chelsea having most players in the running for the crown at five each.

The nominees for the 2021 Ballon d'Or

GOALKEEPERS

Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG)

DEFENDERS

Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus)

Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus)

Simon Kjær (AC Milan)

Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea)

Ruben Dias (Manchester City)

MIDFIELDERS

N'Golo Kante (Chelsea)

Mason Mount (Chelsea)

Nicolo Barella (Inter Milan)

Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United)

Pedri (Barcelona)

Luka Modric (Real Madrid)

Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City)

Jorginho (Chelsea)

Phil Foden (Manchester City)

FORWARDS

Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City)

Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund)

Harry Kane (Tottenham)

Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)

Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)

Lionel Messi (PSG)

Neymar (PSG)

Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan)

Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)

Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)

Romelu Lukaku (Chelsea)

Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)

Kylian Mbappe (PSG)

Gerard Moreno (Villarreal)

Luis Suarez (Atletico Madrid)