Ronaldo, Bale Makes First Ballon D’Or List: The first five players to be considered for the Ballon d’Or has been released, with Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo making the list.
The Real Madrid duo join fellow nominees in Sergio Aguero, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Gianluigi Buffon as the first five to be released in the 30-man shortlist.
The overall list of names put forward for the prize is being announced in five-man groups in alphabetical order throughout Monday.
The Ballon d’Or and the FIFA World Player of the Year awards merged in 2010 to become the FIFA Ballon d’Or, but that partnership came to an end this year, allowing both prizes to return to their original formats.
