France Football, organisers of the Ballon d’Or award, has revealed the three players with the highest number of nominations in the history of the prestigious individual honour.
The list was published on the organisation’s social media platforms on Wednesday as part of activities leading to the announcement of nominees for this year’s award.
Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo tops the list with 18 Ballon d’Or nominations.
The former Real Madrid and Manchester United star has won the award five times during his illustrious career.
Argentina captain Lionel Messi follows with 16 nominations and holds the record for the most Ballon d’Or victories, having won the award eight times.
Italian football legend Paolo Maldini is third on the list, having been nominated 13 times during his career.
However, the former AC Milan captain never won the prestigious award.
Maldini’s closest opportunity came in 1995 when he finished as runner up behind Liberia’s George Weah.
