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Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi lead the contenders on the 23-man shortlist for The Best FIFA Men's Player 2016 award, with three members of Leicester City's title-winning squad also in contention. Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez and N'Golo Kante, who has since joined Chelsea, have been named on the shortlist in recognition of their roles in Leicester's shock Premier League title success last season. Claudio Ranieri is also a leading contender for the top coach award. Top names on the list include Portugal captain Ronaldo who enjoyed success in the Champions League and Euro 2016 this year and Real Madrid teammates Gareth Bale, Toni Kroos, Sergio Ramos and Luka Modric, plus Barcelona's Messi, Luis Suarez, Neymar and Andres Iniesta. Atletico Madrid and France forward Antoine Griezmann, a finalist in the Champions League and European Championship, is another contender, along with international teammate Dimitri Payet. Arsenal's Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez, ...

Barcelona forward Lionel Messi was pictured looking dejected yesterday morning after the 3-1 loss to Manchester City. He was flanked by police men as the Barcelona team left the airport. Messi had put Barcelona in front before a brace from Gundogan and a De Bryune free kick completed Guardiola's revenge.

France Football announced all the players in contention for the coveted prize earlier today, with Ronaldo, Messi, Bale, Vardy, Zlatan, Aguero all among the nominees. See the full list below. 2016 Ballon d'Or shortlist Sergio Aguero (Manchester City) Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Borussia Dortmund) Gareth Bale (Real Madrid) Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus) Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City) Paulo Dybala (Juventus) Diego Godin (Atletico Madrid) Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid) Gonzalo Higuain (Juventus) Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Manchester United) Andres Iniesta (Barcelona) Koke (Atletico Madrid) Toni Kroos (Real Madrid) Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich) Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich) Luka Modric (Real Madrid) Riyad Mahrez (Leicester) Lionel Messi (Barcelona) Hugo Lloris (Tottenham) Dimitri Payet (West Ham) Paul Pogba (Manchester United) Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich) Pepe (Real Madrid) Neymar (Barcelona) Rui Patricio (Sporting L...