30-Man Ballon d’Or Shortlist: How Many Premier League Players Make the Cut?

The 30-man Ballon d’Or shortlist was announced on Friday late evening and it appears that the Premier League players have taken most slots of the 30 available.

There are four different leagues from Europe’s top five leagues represented in the list and players from 12 different clubs making the cut.

The 30-Man Ballon d’Or Shortlist facts;

• There are 15 Premier League players nominated for the shortlist. That’s 50% of the list going to the English Top Flight;
• The 15 different players hail from four different Premier League clubs: Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, and Tottenham;
• The Reds, Man City, and Real Madrid have the most players nominated for the Ballon d’Or, with each of them being represented by six players apiece;
• From the other leagues, there are seven players from La Liga, three from Serie A, four from the Bundesliga, and one from France’s Ligue 1;
• This is also the first time that Lionel Messi did not make the Ballon d’Or shortlist in 17 years since 2005;
• If Robert Lewandowski didn’t move over to Camp Nou, Barcelona would have no players nominated for the prestigious award, shocking;
• Thibaut Courtois from Real Madrid is the only goalkeeper to make the Ballon d’Or shortlist this year

Premier League Players Nominated for the Ballon d’Or
Liverpool Players

1. Mohamed Salah – Forward
2. Luis Diaz – Forward
3. Darwin Nunez (Was at Benfica) – Forward
4. Fabinho – Midfielder
5. Trent Alexander-Arnold – Defender
6. Virgil van Dijk – Defender

Manchester City Players

1. Erling Haaland (Was at Borussia Dortmund)
2. Bernardo Silva – Midfielder
3. Riyaz Mahrez – Forward
4. Phil Foden – Midfielder
5. Kevin de Bruyne – Midfielder
6. Joao Cancelo, – Defender

Tottenham Hotspur

1. Harry Kane – Forward
2. Son – Forward

Manchester United

1. Christiano Ronaldo – Forward

Top Five Goal-Contributing Players on the Ballon D’or Shortlist
5th Place: Mohamed Salah

Matches Played: 51
Goals Scored: 31
Assist: 15
Goal Contribution: 46

4th Place: Christopher Nkunku

Matches Played: 52
Goals Scored: 35
Assist: 16
Goal Contribution: 51

3rd: Robert Lewandowski

Matches Played: 46
Goals Scored: 50
Assist: 6
Goal Contribution: 56

2nd Place: Karim Benzema

Matches Played: 46
Goals Scored: 44
Assist: 14
Goal Contribution: 58

1st Place: Kylian Mbappe

Matches Played: 46
Goals Scored: 39
Assist: 21
Goal Contribution: 60

Predicted Winner of the Prestigious Accolade

It will come down to Mo Salah, Sadio Mane, and Karim Benzema. Of the three predicted finalists for the Ballon d’Or, one believes it will be the Real Madrid super striker who will take the award, Benzema.