Most of the nominations fall in favor of 5 players, one of whom will win the Ballon d'Or, awarded by France Football magazine to the best player in the world.
The cover of the specialized French newspaper "L'Equipe" came to clarify the image of the candidates more and bring them closer to winning the prestigious award.
Cover of the French newspaper L'Equipe (French press)
Last week, France Football magazine published the list of 30 candidates who were selected based on the votes of 180 football journalists from around the world, before reducing it to the final shortlist that will include 3 players to choose one of them to crown the Golden Ball, which is the Argentine Lionel Messi. The most crowned with 6 balls, followed by Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo (5 balls).
The winner of the Golden Ball - which was canceled last season due to the repercussions of the spread of the Corona virus - will be announced at a ceremony in the French capital, Paris, on November 29.
Among the most prominent candidates are Argentine Lionel Messi, Polish Robert Lewandowski, Italian Jorginho, French Karim Benzema and Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo.
These five are the ones who appeared on the cover of "L'Equipe", and it was remarkable the absence of stars who gave a great level and won titles, led by the French Clian Mbappe, Ngolo Kante and the Brazilian Neymar.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Leo Messi (@leomessi)
Messi, 34, is considered - according to most media reports - the most likely candidate to move away at the top of the list of award winners and add a seventh golden ball to his track record, after leading his country to the Copa America.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Equipe de France de Football (@equipedefrance)
As for Benzema, 33, he presented an exceptional level in terms of scoring and creating goals with Real Madrid and his country, which will qualify him to be a contender for the award.
The French international, who won the European Nations League title with his country a few days ago, scored 30 goals in 46 games with "Royal Club" last season.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Robert Lewandowski (@_rl9)
Despite the "injustice" he suffered last season by not winning the gold award because of Corona, Lewandowski, 33, still proves that he is among the best scorers in the history of the game.
He broke Gerd Muller's record in the number of goals scored in one season, and scored 41 goals in (29 games), after the record recorded in Muller's name was 40 goals, and crowned the Golden Boot award given to the top scorer in European leagues.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Jorginho Frillo (@jorginhofrello)
As for the Italian Jorginho, he won the European Nations Cup and the European Champions League with his team Chelsea.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Cristiano Ronaldo (@cristiano)
The surprise in the cover of "L'Equipe" was the appearance of Ronaldo, who has not lost sight of the Golden Ball nominations since 2007, and although he did not win titles with Juventus or his country last season, he topped the list of top scorers in the Italian League with 29 goals, and he did not show any indications of a decline in his level This season, after returning to Manchester United, he scored 5 goals in 6 matches, and won the Premier League Player of the Month award.
And Ronaldo (36 years) - the winner of 5 Golden Balls (the first in 2008) cannot be excluded from the competition for his favorite award.