The nominees for the Golden Ball Award were announced in France

On August 7, the French magazine France Football named this year's nominees for the Ballon d'Or award, the prize will traditionally be awarded to the best football player at the end of the 2024/25 season.

The media pointed out that before the experts compile a list of 30 players nominated for the award, they take into account many criteria.

"And this is not a five—minute conversation between two insiders. <...> 14 people participated in the compilation of the 69th issue list," L'Équipe's website says.

This year's top 30 includes Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid), Ousmane Dembele and Desiree Douai (both from PSG), Robert Lewandowski, Rafinha and Lamin Yamal (all from Barcelona), Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool) and other famous football players. The full list is published on the magazine's page.

The Golden Ball Award was established by former France Football editor-in-chief Gabriel Hanaud. It was first awarded in 1956, and the winner was Stanley Matthews, a forward of the English club Blackpool.

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Kylian Mbappe, the French striker of the Spanish Real Madrid, won a personal trophy, the Golden Boot, on May 25 at the end of the 2024/25 season. The day before the award ceremony, Mbappe scored two more goals against Real Sociedad, ending his first season at Real Madrid. Thus, he scored 31 goals, equating to 62 points.

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