Iniesta, Suárez, Messi and Neymar Jr up for Ballon d’Or award

Andrés Iniesta, Luis Suárez, Leo Messi and Neymar Jr are the four FC Barcelona players nominated for the Ballon d’Or award.

The club captain and the front three form part of a 30-man list put forward by France Football which was announced on Monday.

The Ballon d’Or award will follow a different voting process, with international journalists being the only ones to vote, without the participation of managers and captains of national teams.

This change is due to the separation, when giving the award, from France Football and FIFA, as it was before 2009, when the Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player merged. It is also why the list of finalists has increased from 23 to 30 players.

Joining the four Barça on the list are Agüero, Aubameyang, Bale, Buffon, Cristiano Ronaldo, De Bruyne, Dybala, Godín, Griezmann, Higuaín, Ibrahimovic, Koke, Kroos, Lewandowski, Lloris, Mahrez, Modric, Müller, Neuer, Payet, Pepe, Pogba, Rui Patricio, Ramos, Vardy and Vidal. The winner will be announced on 13 December.