PARIS (AP) — Paris Saint-Germain forward Ousmane Dembélé and England forward Chloe Kelly are among the contenders to win the men’s and women’s Ballon d’Or award.
The 30 men’s and 30 women’s nominees were revealed Thursday by France Football magazine, with the winners to be announced at a ceremony in Paris on Sept. 22.
The 28-year-old Dembélé was inspirational in to its first Champions League title after years of falling short and helped the French club complete a treble. He scored a career-high 35 goals overall for PSG last season.
, whose mesmerizing performances and helped Barcelona win the Spanish league title, is among the other men’s nominees.
Kelly starred for England at Euros
When England won the women’s European Championship last month, the 27-year-old Kelly blasted home the decisive penalty in the final against . She also played a key role earlier in the tense knockout stages.
Last season, Kelly played on the right flank as Arsenal won the women’s Champions League with another over powerhouse Barcelona.
She faces competition from defender Lucy Bronze and — her England teammates who both play for Chelsea — and from Barcelona midfielder Aitana Bonmatí, the winner of the past two awards.
Barcelona players have won the past four women’s awards. Bronze was runner-up in 2019 to U.S. forward .
PSG players in the spotlight
Dembélé was one of nine PSG players nominated for the men’s award, including goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, forward , who scored twice in the 5-0 rout of Inter Milan in the Champions League final, and inspirational winger Khvitcha Kvaratskhelia, who in the January transfer window.
The other men’s nominees include Egypt striker , whose 29 league goals helped Liverpool win the Premier League, and prolific Real Madrid striker Kylian Mbappé, who netted 44 times for Madrid last season.
Midfielder Rodri won the Ballon d’Or last year after impressing with Manchester City and Spain but missed most of last season with a knee injury.
last year in apparent protest because its forward Vinícius Júnior finished in second place. After staying away, Madrid and its players then vented their feelings on social media.
The voting system
The Ballon d’Or was created by France Football magazine and has been awarded since 1956 for men, and since 2018 for women. It is voted for by journalists from the top 100 countries in the FIFA rankings for the men’s award and the top 50 FIFA-ranked countries for the women’s award.
Each journalist, one per country, selects players in ranked order with points attributed to each position. The winner is the player who receives the most points.
Other nominations
PSG coach was among the nominees for best men’s coach and England’s best women’s coach.
Donnarumma, whose shot-stopping in the knockout stages proved crucial to PSG’s success, is favored to win the Lev Yashin award for best men’s goalkeeper, while Hampton is among the five women’s candidates for that award.
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