Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy was the only English player nominated for FIFA's prestigious Ballon d'Or, the 29 year-old taking his place among a host of the game's elite players vying for its top individual prize. 

Included in the line-up is Vardy's Foxes team-mate Riyad Mahrez, the pair among eight Premier League players nominated.

Here is the final list of 30 players nominated:

- Sergio Aguero (Manchester City and Argentina)
- Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Borussia Dortmund and Gabon)
- Gareth Bale (Real Madrid and Wales)
- Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus and Italy)
- Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid and Portugal)
- Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City and Belgium)
- Paulo Dybala (Juventus and Argentina)
- Diego Godin (Atletico Madrid and Uruguay)
- Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid and France)
- Gonzalo Higuain (Juventus and Argentina)
- Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Manchester United and Sweden)
- Andres Iniesta (Barcelona and Spain)
- Koke (Atletico Madrid and Spain)
- Toni Kroos (Real Madrid and Germany)
- Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich and Poland)
- Hugo Lloris (Tottenham and France)
- Riyad Mahrez (Leicester City and Algeria)
- Luka Modric (Real Madrid and Croatia)
- Lionel Messi (Barcelona and Argentina)
- Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich and Germany)
- Neymar (Barcelona and Brazil)
- Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich and Germany)
- Dimitri Payet (West Ham and France)
- Pepe (Real Madrid and Portugal)
- Paul Pogba (Manchester United and France)
- Rui Patricio (Sporting CP and Portugal)
- Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid and Spain)
- Luis Suarez (Barcelona and Uruguay)
- Jamie Vardy (Leicester City and England)
- Arturo Vidal (Bayern Munich and Chile)

LaLiga and the Premier League proved to be the dominant forces in the list, providing 21 of the 30 players put forward for football's most coveted annual individual award.

Spain's top flight leads the way with 13 players – six of those coming from European champion Real Madrid, with LaLiga and Copa del Rey double winner Barcelona and Atletico Madrid forced to settle for four and three respectively.

Record man Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo is favourite to win the award for a fourth time, having helped Portugal to UEFA EURO 2016 glory – dual joy also enjoyed by Madrid defender Pepe, with Gareth Bale, Toni Kroos, Luka Modric, Pepe and Sergio Ramos concluding the Bernabeu contingent.

Ronaldo has now been shortlisted for the Ballon d'Or for 13 consecutive years from 2004 onwards, an all-time record for the award that is now under back the sole auspice of French publication France football after a split with FIFA.

Lionel Messi is defending his crown as world football's premier player for the fifth time and Barcelona's formidable front three are all up for consideration, with captain Andres Iniesta completing a quartet alongside the free-scoring Neymar and Luis Suarez.

Suarez's compatriot Diego Godin features for Atletico, as do Spain midfielder Koke and Antoine Griezmann, who suffered double final heartache in the UEFA Champions League and with host nation France at Euro 2016.

Big-names boost Premier League

The Premier League's numbers are bolstered by Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who joined Manchester United on the back of prolonging Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain's runs of domestic title triumphs in Italy and France respectively.

Ibrahimovic's departure from the French capital means Ligue 1 has no representatives, while all three of Serie A's nominees – Gianluigi Buffon, Paulo Dybala and Gonzalo Higuain – are on Juventus's books.

There is a moderately wider spread of clubs in play from the Bundesliga, with Robert Lewandowski, Thomas Muller, Manuel Neuer and Arturo Vidal of champion Bayern Munich having Borussia Dortmund hitman Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to keep them company.

Premier League champion Leicester City supply Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy, two of 13 nomination debutants on a shortlist expanded from 23. Vardy is the only Englishman of eight players from the country's top flight.

French renaissance

Sergio Aguero and Kevin De Bruyne are present once more after individual campaigns that far outstripped Manchester City's collective achievement, while Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris is one of four French nominees alongside West Ham's Dimitri Payet, Pogba and Griezmann – the most provided by Les Blues since 2009 to counter their domestic league's disappearance from the field.

That number is only matched by Argentina – Messi, Aguero, Dybala and Aguero - while Portugal, Germany and Spain supply three apiece.

In total, 17 countries are represented, with five-time world champion Brazil one of 11 nations to offer a solitary nominee in the form of Olympic-winning captain Neymar.