Seven Liverpool players make Ballon dOr shortlist

Virgil van Dijk is one of seven Liverpool players named on the 30-man shortlist for the 2019 Ballon d’Or.

Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Georginio Wijnaldum and Alisson have also been chosen from the Reds.

Five Manchester City players – Raheem Sterling, Riyad Mahrez, Kevin de Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and Sergio Aguero – are on the list.

Tottenham’s Hugo Lloris and Son Heung-min are also included.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, who have won the award 10 times between them, again feature among the contenders.

Some of the biggest omissions from the list include Paris St-Germain and Brazil forward Neymar, Manchester United and France midfielder Paul Pogba and Tottenham and England striker Harry Kane.

Champions League winners Liverpool have the most players on the list from one club with Premier League champions Manchester City the next highest number with five.

Barcelona have four players; as well as Messi, Frenkie de Jong, Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Antoine Griezmann feature in the list.

Arsenal forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is also included, as is Real Madrid’s former Chelsea playmaker Eden Hazard.

The Ballon d’Or winner will be named in Paris on 2 December.

Luka Modric won in 2018 to end the seven-year dominance of the award by Messi and Ronaldo.

Van Dijk is among the favourites to win this year’s award after being named Uefa Player of the Year in August.

BBC Online