Ronaldo, Messi, Neymar Headline France Football's 30-Man Shortlist for Ballon D'Or

France Football has revealed the 30 finalists for the 2017 Ballon d'Or award, for which Cristiano Ronaldo is the favorite.

France Football has revealed the 30 finalists for the 2017 Ballon d'Or award, with names added to the prestigious shortlist over the course of the day.

The very first name to come out was that of Paris Saint-Germain's €222m superstar Neymar, quickly followed by Real Madrid midfield maestro Luka Modric.

Juventus hotshot Paulo Dybala was also among the first group of five, as were Marcelo and Chelsea dynamo N'Golo Kante.

Further names joined them in due course, including perennial favorites Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

The award, which returned to France Football's jurisdiction last year for the first time since 2009 after the magazine's split with FIFA, is currently held by Cristiano Ronaldo.

The 30 nominees for the 2017 Ballon d'Or France Football ! #ballondor pic.twitter.com/TBRQwRvo4E

— Ballon d'Or (@ballondor) October 9, 2017

No individual other than Ronaldo or Lionel Messi have claimed the prize since 2007 when Kaka won after inspiring AC Milan to Champions League glory.

It was 2006 the last time neither Ronaldo nor Messi were named in the top three.