The Premier League has been represented with 15 players on a 30-man shortlist for the Ballon d'Or, with Tottenham duo Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min amongst them.
Former Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger also made the list for his impressive form, though he now plays for Real Madrid after completing a free transfer to the Spanish club earlier in the transfer window.
Also on the list are Manchester City and Liverpool summer signings Erling Haaland and Darwin Nunez, nominated for their excellent goalscoring exploits in Germany and Portugal, respectively.
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Kane was also on last year's 30-man shortlist but didn't make the top three, Son wasn't nominated and neither was Rudiger. Paris Saint-Germain star Lionel Messi is the current holder of the prestigious award but he didn't make the list either after an underwhelming first season in France.
Tottenham's impressive turnaround under Antonio Conte has been rewarded with individual recognition for Kane and Son's combined 40 goals and 18 assists under the Italian, split with 20 goals and 9 assists in 2022 so far. As for Rudiger, having not been nominated despite his starring role in Chelsea's 2021 Champions League win, he has now been given recognition for helping Thomas Tuchel's side earn a third placed finish in the Premier League before his move away.
Alongside the Spurs and Chelsea stars, Cristiano Ronaldo has been included after being Manchester United's top scorer last season. The striker has won the award five times, two less than Messi's seven.
The awards ceremony will be held on Monday, October 17.
The 30 nominees for the Men's Ballon d'Or: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Karim Benzema, Joao Cancelo, Casemiro, Thibaut Courtois, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kevin De Bruyne, Luis Diaz, Fabinho, Phil Foden, Erling Haaland, Sebastien Haller, Harry Kane, Joshua Kimmich, Rafael Leao, Robert Lewandowski, Riyad Mahrez, Mike Maignan, Sadio Mane, Kylian Mbappe, Luka Modric, Christopher Nkunku, Darwin Nunez, Antonio Rudiger, Mohamed Salah, Bernardo Silva, Son Heung-min, Virgil van Dijk, Vinicius Jr, Dusan Vlahovic.
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