Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Robert Lewandowski are among the nominees on the 30-man 2021 Ballon d’Or longlist to have been released by France Football.
Other superstar performers to get the nod include Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappe, Karim Benzema and Romelu Lukaku.
A Golden Ball heading in the direction of any of those mentioned above would come as no surprise, but the likes of Euro 2020 winner Jorginho and his Chelsea team-mate N’Golo Kante also have their sights set on a shock win.
Who is in contention for the 2021 Ballon d’Or?
Cesar Azpilicueta
Nicolo Barella
Karim Benzema
Leonardo Bonucci
Giorgio Chiellini
Kevin De Bruyne
Ruben Dias
Gianluigi Donnarumma
Bruno Fernandes
Phil Foden
Erling Haaland
Jorginho
Harry Kane
N’Golo Kante
Simon Kjaer
Robert Lewandowski
Romelu Lukaku
Riyad Mahrez
Lautaro Martinez
Kylian Mbappe
Lionel Messi
Luka Modric
Gerard Moreno
Mason Mount
Neymar
Pedri
Cristiano Ronaldo
Mohamed Salah
Raheem Sterling
Luis Suarez
When will the 2021 winner be revealed?
Now that a 30-man list of top performers from the last 12 months has been compiled, the voting process can begin.
A selection of international journalists, national team coaches and captains will be polled to determine the winner, with each voter being asked to pick out their top five.
Once that process has been completed, the prestigious prize will be handed out at a glitzy ceremony in Paris on November 29.
Past winners
With France Football being forced to take a coronavirus-enforced break from Ballon d’Or duty in 2020, the current holders of the men’s and women’s gongs have reigned for two years.
Argentine superstar Messi was the last man to land the male award back in 2019, with the iconic South American claiming top prize for a record-breaking sixth time.