Paris Saint-Germain forward Ousmane Demb\u00e9l\u00e9 and England forward Chloe Kelly are among the contenders to win the men’s and women’s Ballon d’Or award.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The 28-year-old Demb\u00e9l\u00e9 was inspirational in leading PSG 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.<\/p>\n
Teenage star Lamine Yamal, whose mesmerizing performances lit up the Champions League and helped Barcelona win the Spanish league title, is among the other men\u2019s nominees.<\/p>\n
Kelly starred for England at Euros<\/h2>\n
When England won the women’s European Championship last month, the 27-year-old Kelly blasted home the decisive penalty in the final against World Cup winner Spain. She also played a key role earlier in the tense knockout stages.<\/p>\n
Last season, Kelly played on the right flank as Arsenal won the women\u2019s Champions League with another against-the-odds win over powerhouse Barcelona.<\/p>\n
She faces competition from defender Lucy Bronze and goalkeeper Hannah Hampton \u2014 her England teammates who both play for Chelsea \u2014 and from Barcelona midfielder Aitana Bonmat\u00ed, the winner of the past two awards.<\/p>\n
Barcelona players have won the past four women’s awards. Bronze was runner-up in 2019 to U.S. forward Megan Rapinoe.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\nChloe Kelly has been nominated for the Ballon d’Or Award, along with two-time winner Aitana Bonmat\u00ed. (Photo by Joan Cros – Corbis\/Getty Images)<\/span> <\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n Demb\u00e9l\u00e9 was one of nine PSG players nominated for the men’s award, including goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, forward D\u00e9sir\u00e9 Dou\u00e9, who scored twice in the 5-0 rout of Inter Milan in the Champions League final, and inspirational winger Khvitcha Kvaratskhelia, who joined from Napoli in the January transfer window.<\/p>\n The other men’s nominees include Egypt striker Mo Salah, whose 29 league goals helped Liverpool win the Premier League, and prolific Real Madrid striker Kylian Mbapp\u00e9, who netted 44 times for Madrid last season.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Real Madrid snubbed the star-studded ceremony last year in apparent protest because its forward Vin\u00edcius J\u00fanior finished in second place. After staying away, Madrid and its players then vented their feelings on social media.<\/p>\n The Ballon d\u2019Or 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n PSG coach Luis Enrique was among the nominees for best men’s coach and England’s Sarina Wiegman best women\u2019s coach.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Reporting by The Associated Press.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n Want great stories delivered right to your inbox?\u00a0<\/i>Create or log in to your FOX Sports account<\/u><\/i><\/a> and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily!<\/i><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Get more from the UEFA Champions League<\/span> Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more<\/span> PSG players in the spotlight<\/h2>\n
The voting system<\/h2>\n
Other nominations<\/h2>\n
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