Malaga-born Isco nominated for prestigious Ballon d'Or
France Football confirmed that local lad Isco was nominated for this year's Ballon d'Or on Tuesday
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Viernes, 13 de octubre 2017, 15:32
As the nominees were revealed in groups of three, the world watched to see who would be in the running for the most prestigious individual award in football, the Ballon d'Or. Never before has a Malaga-born player been shortlisted for the award, but Isco's presence on this year's list is indisputable after an incredible year for both club and country. The 23-year-old's position in Real Madrid's starting eleven has been well and truly cemented, featuring in all seven of their league games so far this season. Also, having scored five goals in Spain's World Cup qualification rounds, he has proved vital to the national team, and will certainly be part of Julen Lopetegui's plans in Russia next year.
NOMINEES
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La Liga (11) Sergio Ramos, Marcelo, Modric, Kroos, Isco, Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid); Messi and Luis Suárez (Barcelona), Oblak and Griezmann (Atlético).
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Premier League (7) Coutinho, Mané (Liverpool), Kanté and Hazard (Chelsea), De Gea (Manchester United), Kane (Tottenham), De Bruyne (Manchester City).
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Serie A (5) Buffon and Dybala (Juventus), Mertens (Nápoles), Dzeko (Roma), Bonucci (Milan).
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Ligue 1 (4) Neymar, Cavani and Mbappé (París Saint-Germain), Falcao (Mónaco).
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Bundesliga (3) Hummels and Lewandowski (Bayern Múnich), Aubameyang (Dortmund).
The Ballon d'Or award has been dominated for nine years by just two players, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, and probably rightly so. There are some promising new additions to the list such as Isco and Tottenham's star striker Harry Kane, however Ronaldo looks favourite to match Messi's record of five Balon d'Ors after an incredible year with Real Madrid, during which he won the Champions League and La Liga.
Despite the dominance of Messi and Ronaldo in recent years; the featuring of ex-Malaga player Isco, and other young talent such as PSG's Mbappé, shows promise for the future of European football, both at club and international level.
Spain looks to be at the pinnacle of European football as 11 players from La Liga have been short-listed for this years Ballon d'Or; England's Premier League follows behind with seven players nominated.
