Sam Kerr nominated for inaugural women’s Ballon d’Or award
Matildas striker Sam Kerr has been shortlisted for the inaugural women's Ballon d'Or award.
Key Points
- The Ballon d'Or has been awarded to male players since 1956
- Sam Kerr was snubbed from FIFA awards last year despite being named MVP in the US league and the W-League
- Luca Modric and Kylian Mbappe are tipped to end a decade of dominance by Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi
The prestigious prize, which has been awarded to the best male player in the world by France Football magazine since 1956, is recognising female players for the first time this year.
The award will be presented in Paris on December 3, with Kerr one of 15 players, and the only Australian, in contention for the prize.
The Matildas' most recognisable player, who will line up for Perth Glory this coming W-League season, has been overlooked in the past for major honours.
She was controversially snubbed for FIFA's world Player of the Year award last year despite inspiring Australia to success in the Tournament of Nations, where she scored four times as the Matildas won all three of their games — including victory over the top-ranked USA in the final.
She was also left out of the FIFPro Women's World XI in March.
She was named the Asian player of the year, the W-League player of the year and the most valuable player in US football's NWSL following her strong displays for Chicago Red Stars.
Among those up against Kerr are Brazilian star forward Marta, Norway's Ada Hegerberg and German international Dzsenifer Marozsan, who were all finalists in last month's The Best FIFA Football Awards.
Kerr was one of 10 players nominated for the top FIFA gong in London, but finished outside the top three in the voting.
Veteran Marta was crowned 'The Best' at the awards, adding to a glittering CV that has seen her claim five FIFA Women's player of the year awards.
Modric or Mbappe expected to break Messi-Ronaldo run
Croatia's Luka Modric and France striker Kylian Mbappe are in the running to break Lionel Messi's and Cristiano Ronaldo's 10-year dominance of the Ballon d'Or.
The World Cup finalist and champion, respectively, are nominees for this year's men's award.
The last player to win the trophy before Ronaldo and Messi took over was Kaka in 2007.
This year, Ronaldo and Messi have not been as dominant, leaving the door open for a new winner.
Mbappe won the World Cup for France in Russia, where he became the first teenager to score in a final since Pele in 1958.
France beat Modric's Croatia 4-2 in the final, and Modric was voted player of the tournament.
Mbappe was named the tournament's best young player.
Last month, the technically gifted Modric won FIFA's best player award, and is regarded as the front-runner for the Ballon d'Or.
The France Football award merged with FIFA's player of the year from 2010-15, but they split two years ago, although the Ballon d'Or remains highly prestigious on account of the award's history.
In addition to guiding Croatia to the World Cup final, Modric also won the Champions League with Real Madrid.
Mbappe also helped Paris Saint-Germain to a domestic treble last season.
Ronaldo and Messi are also among the 30 male nominees. They have shared the past 10 Ballon d'Or trophies, winning five times each.
Antoine Griezmann, Neymar, Gareth Bale, Mohamed Salah and Sergio Aguero are also listed.
Bale scored with a bicycle kick for Madrid in the Champions League final, while Salah enjoyed a breathtaking first season with Liverpool, bagging 32 goals in the English Premier League.
AAP/AP
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