It's coming up – so what exactly is the Kopa Trophy? The nominations for this year's Ballon d'Or were confirmed last week as the planet's best players get set for an awards bash that will see football's biggest individual prize handed out.
Sir Stanley Matthews was the very first of a long list of illustrious winners in 1956, while Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi dominated the event in recent years – although a new winner is guaranteed this year, as neither of the two 2000s icons have been nominated for the first time since 2003.
