30-MAN SHORTLIST FOR BALLON D'OR

France Football has revealed the 30 finalists for the 2017 Ballon d'Or award, with names added to the prestigious shortlist over the course of the day.
The very first name to come out was that of Paris Saint-Germain's €222m megastar Neymar, quickly followed by Real Madrid midfield genius Luka Modric.
Juventus hotshot Paulo Dybala was also among the first group of five, as were Marcelo and Chelsea dynamo N'Golo Kante.
Further names joined them in due course, including constant favorites Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
The award, which returned to France Football's jurisdiction last year for the first time since 2009 after the magazine's split with FIFA, is currently held by Cristiano Ronaldo.

. No player other than Ronaldo or Lionel Messi have claimed the award since 2007 when Kaka won after inspiring AC Milan to Champions League glory.
It was 2006 the last time neither Ronaldo nor Messi were named in the top three