Manchester City quintet Kevin De Bruyne, Ruben Dias, Phil Foden, Riyad Mahrez and Raheem Sterling have all been named on the 30-man shortlist for the 2021 Ballon d’Or.
The Citizens enjoyed another successful campaign last season, winning their third Premier League title in four years and their fourth successive EFL Cup, while Pep Guardiola‘s men also reached their first ever Champions League final.
The world’s most prestigious individual award in football, handed out by French news magazine France Football, was cancelled in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, however this year it has returned with the winner set to be announced before the end of 2021.
Man City, along with Champions League winners Chelsea, are the only two club who have as many as five players represented on this year’s shortlist.
Find below all the nominees for the Men’s and Women’s #ballondor, #tropheekopa and #tropheeyachine! ⤵ pic.twitter.com/z27scrYfQn
— France Football #BallondOr (@francefootball) October 8, 2021
After a stellar maiden campaign at the Etihad Stadium, Dias is one of five defenders who has been nominated for the award; Italian World Cup winner Fabio Cannavaro was the last defender to claim the award back in 2006.
De Bruyne and Foden have been selected in the midfield category, with the latter one of only three nominees aged 21 or younger, along with Borussia Dortmund‘s Erling Braut Haaland and Barcelona‘s Pedri.
Mahrez and Sterling are two of 15 forwards shortlisted, joining six-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi and five-time champions Cristiano Ronaldo, who are the current favourites with the bookmakers to add another individual trophy to their cabinet.
Meanwhile, Ederson has been named on the 10-man shortlist for the 2021 Yashin trophy, an award presented to the best goalkeeper of the year and will be handed out at the Ballon d’Or ceremony.
2021 Ballon d’Or nominees:
Cesar Azpilicueta(Chelsea & Spain)
Nicolo Barella(Inter Milan & Italy)
Karim Benzema(Real Madrid & France)
Leonardo Bonucci(Juventus & Italy)
Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City & Belgium)
Giorgio Chiellini(Juventus & Italy)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus / Manchester United & Portugal)
Ruben Dias (Manchester City & Portugal)
Gianluigi Donnarumma(AC Milan / Paris Saint-Germain & Italy)
Bruno Fernandes(Manchester United & Portugal)
Phil Foden (Manchester City & England)
Erling Braut Haaland (Borussia Dortmund & Norway)
Jorginho(Chelsea & Italy)
Harry Kane(Tottenham Hotspur & England)
N’Golo Kante(Chelsea & France)
Simon Kjaer(AC Milan & Denmark)
Robert Lewandowski(Bayern Munich & Poland)
Romelu Lukaku(Inter Milan / Chelsea & Belgium)
Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City & Portugal)
Lautaro Martinez(Inter Milan & Argentina)
Kylian Mbappe(Paris Saint-Germain & France)
Lionel Messi (Barcelona / Paris Saint-Germain & Argentina)
Luka Modric(Real Madrid & Croatia)
Gerard Moreno(Villarreal & Spain)
Mason Mount(Chelsea & England)
Neymar(Paris Saint-Germain & Brazil)
Pedri (Barcelona & Spain)
Mohamed Salah(Liverpool & Egypt)
Raheem Sterling (Manchester City & England)
Luis Suarez(Atletico Madrid & Uruguay)
2021 Yashin Trophy nominees:
Gianluigi Donnarumma (AC Milan / Paris Saint-Germain & Italy)
Ederson (Manchester City & Brazil)
Kasper Schmeichel(Leicester City & Denmark)
Edouard Mendy(Chelsea & Senegal)
Thibaut Courtois(Real Madrid & Belgium)
Keylor Navas(Paris Saint-Germain & Costa Rica)
Emiliano Martinez(Aston Villa & Argentina)
Manuel Neuer(Bayern Munich & Germany)
Jan Oblak(Atletico Madrid & Slovenia)
Samir Handanovic(Inter Milan & Slovenia)
