Thursday the 7th of December will see one of the biggest personal accolades in world football awarded in the form of the Ballon d'Or. Ahead of the awards show in Paris, beIN SPORTS has decided to give you everything you need to know about the Thursday evening event.
How to watch the Ballon d'Or on beIN SPORTS
You can watch the Ballon d'Or exclusively on beIN SPORTS find out how with our guide to the event
What time does it start?
The awards show will start at 9:45pm MECCA, and will be hosted by former French international player David Ginola.
How can I watch the show?
The Ballon d'Or awards show will be streamed on beIN SPORTS CONNECT
How is the award decided?
The prestigious award is decided by 173 journalists from around the world and is awarded on behalf of France Football magazine. The Ballon d'Or was first awarded in 1956 and previous winners include Johan Cruyff, Michel Platini and Zinedine Zidane.
The Nominees
Thirty of the very best players from across Europe have been nominated this season. Eleven nominees have come from La Liga, Seven from the English Premier League, five from Italy, four from Ligue 1 in France and three from the Bundesliga. The full list of nominees is noted below.
Neymar - Paris Saint-Germain
N'Golo Kante - Chelsea
Luka Modric - Real Madrid
Paulo Dybala - Juventus
Marcelo - Real Madrid
Edin Dzeko - Roma
Harry Kane - Tottenham
David De Gea - Manchester United
Robert Lewandowski - Bayern Munich
Kevin De Bruyne - Manchester City
Karim Benzema - Real Madrid
Pierre-Emerick Aubemyang - Borussia Dortmund
Edinson Cavani - Paris Saint-Germain
Lionel Messi - Barcelona
Mats Hummels - Bayern Munich
Philippe Coutinho - Liverpool
Luis Suarez - Barcelona
Jan Oblak - Atletico Madrid
Sergio Ramos - Real Madrid
Dries Mertens - Napoli
Radamel Falcao - Monaco
Sadio Mane - Liverpool
Gianluigi Buffon - Juventus
Antoine Griezmann - Atletico Madrid
Toni Kroos - Real Madrid
Cristiano Ronaldo - Real Madrid
Eden Hazard - Chelsea
Leonardo Bonucci - AC Milan
Isco - Real Madrid
Kylian Mbappe - Paris Saint-Germain
Messi Vs Ronaldo- Again?
Realistically this is going to be another battle between Lionel Messi & Cristiano Ronaldo for the top award. It has been either Messi or Ronaldo for the last eight years. Messi has the edge with five awards, Ronaldo is just behind with four awards.
Real Madrid striker Ronaldo is the favourite for the award this season, having helped Los Blancos to the La Liga title and help his side retain the Champions League title last season.
