It is no longer news that the Ballon d’Or awards will not be held this year because of the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. In its place, France Football have announced an ambitious replacement: the selection of “the greatest XI in history”, with a total of 10 nominees in each position.
The first set of 40 nominees for the Ballon d’Or Dream Team – goalkeeper, right back, left back and centre back – was released on Monday, 5 October.
The midfielder nominees will be made public on Monday, 12 October, followed by the forwards a week later.
The 170 journalists who regularly vote for the Ballon d’Or, including AS honorary president Alfredo Relaño, will be tasked with choosing the final XI, with the prestigious selection to be announced on 17 December.
The list:
Ajax: Donny van de Beek, Dusan Tadić
Arsenal: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Atletico Madrid: João Félix
Barcelona: Frenkie de Jong, Marc-André ter Stegen, Lionel Messi, Antoine Griezmann
Bayern Munich: Robert Lewandowski
Juventus: Cristiano Ronaldo, Matthjis de Ligt
Liverpool: Sadio Mané, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Alisson, Georginio Wijnaldum, Virgil van Djik, Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah
Manchester City: Sergio Agüero, Bernardo Silva, Riyad Mahrez, Kevin de Bruyne, Raheem Sterling
Napoli: Kalidou Koulibaly
PSG: Kylian Mbappé, Marquinhos
Real Madrid: Karim Benzema, Eden Hazard
Tottenham: Hugo Lloris, Heung-min Son
Running royalty is heading to Cape Town next month to race the Sanlam Cape Town…
Lloyd Bosman finally brought the Gun Run to Pacaltsdorp with an emphatic victory in the…
Philani ‘PK’ Sengce defended his OUTsurance Gun Run Trail title in perfect Cape Town spring…
Over the years, African players have been key to the performances of the world's top…
Two under-the-radar runners came up trumps in big ultra-trail races at home and abroad, both…
Two under-the-radar runners came up trumps in big ultra-trail races internationally and in South Africa…