LONDON (Dispatches) - Chelsea’s Jorginho, Paris St-Germain’s Lionel Messi and and Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski are on the shortlist for the men’s Ballon d’Or award.
Messi was the 2019 winner for a record sixth time.
The forward picked up a first major international title when he helped Argentina win the 2021 Copa America.
Italy midfielder Jorginho helped Chelsea win the Champions League last season before victory at Euro 2020 with his country in the summer.
Poland striker Lewandowski won the 2020-21 European Golden Shoe, having scored 41 Bundesliga goals as Bayern Munich won the German league title last season.
Manchester United’s five-time winner Cristiano Ronaldo and Real Madrid’s Luka Modric - the only players other than Messi to win the award since 2008 - are both nominated.
There are 14 Premier League players on the 30-man 2021 shortlist and five members of Italy’s European Championship-winning squad.
The Ballon d’Or, organised by France Football, is awarded annually to the world’s best footballer.
The prize was not given out in 2020 - for the first time since 1956 - because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The winner of the award will be announced on 29 November at Paris’ Theatre du Chatelet.
England’s Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund), Mason Greenwood (Manchester United) and Bakayo Saka (Arsenal) are among the 10 nominees for the Kopa Trophy, which is for players under the age of 21.
The Yashin Trophy is for the best goalkeeper and the four Premier League players on the 10-man shortlist are Chelsea and Senegal’s Edouard Mendy, Manchester City’s Brazilian Ederson, Leicester City’s Kasper Schmeichel, of Denmark, and Aston Villa’s Argentine Emiliano Martinez.