Trio of stars have been joined by the likes of Harry Kane, Eden Hazard and Kylian Mbappe
Ballon d'Or season is in full swing, and the nominations have been revealed!
It is 10 years since Juventus attacker Cristiano Ronaldo first won the award, marking the start of an unprecedented duopoly between the Portuguese and Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi.
The last winner outside of the superhuman pair is Kaka, the Brazilian playmaker who won the prize in 2007.
Defender Fabio Cannavaro was victorious in 2006, while Ronaldinho, Andriy Shevchenko and Pavel Nedved were successful in 2005, 2004 and 2003 respectively.
The last English winner was Michael Owen in 2001, but Ronaldo and Messi have established a stunning stranglehold, winning five each.
Only Michel Platini, Johann Cruyff and Marco van Basten have won three of the awards, while Germany duo Franz Beckenbauer and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Brazil's Ronaldo, Spain's Alfredo Di Stefano and England's Kevin Keegan have won two apiece.
It remains to be seen, however, if Ronaldo or Messi will be successful again this year, after Luka Modric won the FIFA Best Men's Player of the Year award. The winner of this year's Ballon d'Or will be announced in Paris on December 3 by France Football.
Take a look at all 30 of nominees in Goal 's slide list!
Getty ImagesSergio Aguero | Manchester City The striker enjoyed another strong season with Manchester City, finishing third in the Premier League in goals with 21 and helping to guide the club to a record-breaking title win. He was also part of an Argentina squad that made the round of 16 in the World Cup, scoring twice in Russia.AdvertisementGettyGareth Bale | Real Madrid While perhaps a down season for his standards, Bale still scored 16 times in La Liga last season in just 26 appearances. And the Wales international played a crucial role in Real Madrid taking home their third straight Champions League crown, with his bicycle kick stunner in the final in Kiev that proved to be the winner over Liverpool. Getty ImagesAlisson Becker | Liverpool Alisson entered last season as the No.1 for Roma for the first time and quickly proved worthy of the mantle. His strong play in goal helped lead the Serie A club to a surprise semi-final run in the Champions League, where they were knocked out by his future club, Liverpool. Starting for Brazil in a trip to the quarter-finals of the World Cup followed, with a then-record breaking transfer to Anfield his reward. Getty ImagesKarim Benzema | Real Madrid Benzema's La Liga campaign with Real Madrid was forgettable – he scored just five goals – but the club may not have won their third straight Champions League title without him. He scored five goals in nine games, including the opener in the final when he blocked an ill-advised Loris Karius pass into the net for a 1-0 Madrid lead.