Portugese star, Cristiano Ronaldo finally has the chance to match Lionel Messi's Ballon d'Or award record with his recent nomination.

The first 10 nominees for the prestigious Ballon d’Or award have been announced, with the full 30-man list to be unveiled through the day on Monday.

Cristiano Ronaldo is the big favourite to defend his crown – and match Lionel [fsearch]Messi[fsearch]’s five trophies.

The pair are expected to lead the running in 2017, although the likes of Neymar will hope to have a say.

Ballon d’Or 2017 shortlist so far
• Philippe Coutinho (Liverpool)
• Paulo Dybala (Juventus)
• N’Golo Kante (Chelsea)
• Marcelo (Real Madrid)
• Dries Mertens (Napoli)
• Luka Modric (Real Madrid)
• Neymar (PSG)
• Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid)
• Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid)
• Luis Suarez (Barcelona)