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Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah has been named on the Ballon d'Or shortlist alongside Virgil van Dijk and Alexis Mac Allister, though the eventual award winner will not be confirmed until later in the calendar year.
The Reds have been put forward in the Men's Club of the Year category after winning the Premier League title (though PSG, as Champions League winners, and Chelsea, as Club World Cup winners, are likelier victors). Arne Slot, meanwhile, has been put up for the Men's Manager of the Year award, and Alisson Becker is on the nomination list for the Yachine Trophy.
Manchester City midfielder Rodri was the last winner of the Ballon d'Or after he won the European Championship with Spain in 2024. He then missed the majority of last season due to an ACL injury.
The full list of Men's Club of the Year nominees is: Liverpool, PSG, Chelsea, Barcelona and Botafogo. The Brazilian outfit is the current holder of the Copa Libertadores.
The full list of Men's Manager of the Year nominees: Arne Slot, Enzo Maresca, Hansi Flick, Luis Enrique and Antonio Conte. Each of them won either the league or Champions League in Europe.
The full list of Yachine Trophy nominees: Alisson (Liverpool), Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa), Yassine Bounou (Al Hilal), Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid), Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG), Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid), David Raya (Arsenal), Matz Sels (Nottingham Forest), Yann Sommer (Inter Milan) and Lucas Chevalier (Lille).
The Ballon d'Or is an award by France Football, who spoke to Salah at the end of last season. "I didn't expect us to win so quickly," he said while discussing the impact of Slot, who took over from Jurgen Klopp.
"Who could have predicted that the transition would be successful so quickly? No one, I think. In pre-season, Arne came to see me and asked me to be an example for the other players.
"I told him not to worry because I'm always at my best, not to set an example, but because that's who I am. He told me what he expected of me in the game, with a lot of responsibilities in running, which I liked."
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"Arne is very direct," Salah added. "He re-established the competitive level, whereas with Jurgen, we were perhaps a little too much in our comfort zone towards the end.
"Arne and his staff are more open to discussion, to sharing feelings, and I think that was important in my performances. And, above all, it led us to success."
Liverpool.com says: Ousmane Dembele or another PSG player will be the favorite to win the Ballon d'Or but Salah should be in with a chance. His numbers last season were simply sublime.
Scoring 34 goals in all competitions and assisting another 23, he was operating at a truly elite level. He didn't win the Champions League but he did pick up another Premier League title and was the Premier League's best player.
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