Ballon d'Or shortlist: Lionel Messi, Ronaldo, Robert Lewandowski and Jorginho among 30 nominees

Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo, Paris St-Germain's Lionel Messi and Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski are on the shortlist for the men's Ballon d'Or award.

Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar Jr, Jorginho and N'Golo Kante have been named on the 30-man shortlist for the men's 2021 Ballon d'Or award. They are among the leading contenders for the prize handed out by France Football. Other superstar footballers to get the nod include Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappe, Karim Benzema and Romelu Lukaku.

Six-time winner Messi and Megan Rapinoe grabbed the awards the last time they were held in 2019. Last year the Ballon d'Or event was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. While upstaged recently by FIFA's own awards, the Ballon d'Or, whose first recipient was Stanley Matthews in 1956, remains one of the most coveted individual awards in football.