Ballon d'Or 2019- as it happened
Join us as we bring you live coverage of the Ballon d'Or. We will count down as the names 30-10 are revealed, with the ceremony starting at 19:30 CET.
Thanks for joining me here tonight as Messi won his 6th Ballon d'Or. See you tomorrow for some Premier League action.
Van Dijk 2nd
Van Dijk has come 2nd.
Ronaldo 3rd
Ronaldo is the 3rd best player in 2019.
MESSI IS THE WINNER!!!!!!!!!!!
An unbelievable feat. Messi has won his 6th Ballon d'Or. A terrific 2019 for him and he has been crowned the best player in the world once again!!!
Female Ballon d'Or nominees being announced
Who will be announced as the best female player??
Salah 5th!!!
Salah is the 3rd highest Liverpool player and is 5th.
Alisson 7th best player in the world!!!
The Liverpool goalkeeper has been announced as the 7th best player in the world.
Yachine Trophy being explained
This award is given out to the best goalkeepers and is named after legendary goalkeeper Lev Yashin. Robert Lewandowski is giving it out. Who is going to win it?
Lewandowski 8th!!!
Polish goalscoring machine has reaped the rewards of his fine 2019 and has come in 8th place in the ranking.
Mahrez 10th in Ballon d'Or!!!
Mahrez has just been announced in 10th place.
Kopa Trophy nominations being announced
Just running through thr ten names who have been nominated for the Kopa Trophy. This award goes to the best player under 21.
Modric, Mbappé and Hegerberg on the stage!!!
CEREMONY IS UNDERWAY!!!
They are just running through the top 10 players nominated now.
Starting in 5 minutes!!!
A 5 minute warning. We have just been told we are starting in 5 minutes.
Everyone starting to take their seats now!!!
We are now just moments away from one of the biggest sporting events of the year. You won't want to miss it.
Other trophies up for grabs
A reminder that it isn't just the male Ballon d'Or up for grabs. There is also the female Ballon d'Or, the Kopa trophy (best player under 21) and the Yashin trophy (best goalkeeper).
THE TROPHY IS HERE!!!!!!!
The trophy is here now. As the lady holding it walks past a large number of people chant "Messi, Messi". Wonder who they want to win?
Raymond Domenech is here!!!
Still waiting for more stars to arrive before the ceremony gets underway
PAVEL NEDVED!!!
Another star of yesteryear has arrived. Just as I say that De Ligt is here too. He came 15th in the final ranking.
DROGBA!!!!!
Drogba will be one of the hosts tonight. What a player he was!!!
We now know the top 10. Frenkie De Jong in 11th!!
And that completes the ranking between 30 and 11. Frenkie De Jong is in 11th place. Join us at 19:30 for the ceremony. Exciting time. By my calculations, the players remaining are; Alisson, Bernardo, Ronaldo, Lewandowski, Mané, Mahrez, Mbappé, Messi, Salah and Van Dijk
Hazard 13th best!!!
Next up on the list is another Belgian. He moved to Real Madrid in the summer from Chelsea.
15th-De Ligt!!!
His heroics at Ajax earned him a move to Juventus.
Messi is in Paris!!!!!
Messi is now in Paris. Will he be winning his 6th Ballon d'Or tonight?
Griezmann number 18!!!!
His fine form for Atlético was rewarded with a move to Barcelona.
Tadic and Aubameyang 20th best players in the world!!!
Tadic was instrumental in Ajax's run to the Champions League semi-final last season. Aubameyang is Arsenal's top scorer this season.
Lloris in 23rd!!!
Lloris has had a fine year until it was prematurely ended when he got injured against Brighton.
Benzema and Wijnaldum in 26th spot!!!
Benzema and Wijnaldum are tied for 26th spot. Wijnaldum won the Champions League and Benzema has had a fine start to the season.
Male Ballon d'Or nominees
Of course, the ceremony doesn't actually start until 19:30 CET, but 'France Football' have decided to announce the positions 30-10 before it.
Sergio Agüero (ARG/Manchester City) Trent Alexander-Arnold (ENG/Liverpool) Alisson Becker (BRA/Liverpool) Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (GAB/Arsenal) Karim Benzema (FRA/Real Madrid) Bernardo Silva (POR/Manchester City) Cristiano Ronaldo (POR/Juventus) Kevin de Bruyne (BEL/Manchester City) Frenkie de Jong (NED/Barcelona) Matthijs de Ligt (NED/Juventus) Roberto Firmino (BRA/Liverpool) Antoine Griezmann (FRA/Barcelona) Eden Hazard (BEL/Real Madrid) Joao Félix (POR/Atlético de Madrid) Kalidou Koulibaly (SEN/Napoli) Robert Lewandowski (POL/Bayern Munich) Hugo Lloris (FRA/Tottenham) Sadio Mané (SEN/Liverpool) Riyad Mahrez (ALG/Manchester City) Marquinhos (BRA/PSG) Kylian Mbappé (FRA / PSG) Leo Messi (ARG/Barcelona) Mohamed Salah (EGY/Liverpool) Son Heung-Min (KOR/Tottenham) Raheem Sterling (ENG/Manchester City) Dusan Tadic (SER/Ajax) Marc-André ter Stegen (GER/Barcelona) Donny van de Beek (NED/Ajax) Virgil van Dijk (NED/Liverpool) Georginio Wijnaldum (NED/Liverpool)
Female Ballon d'Or nominees
The shortlist for the best female player in 2019 is the following:
Kosovare Asllani (SWE/CD Tacon) Sarah Bouhaddi (FRA/Olympique de Lyon) Lucy Bronze (ENG/Olympique de Lyon) Nilla Fischer (SWE/Linköpings) Pernille Harder (DEN/Wolfsburg) Ada Hegerberg (NOR/Olympique de Lyon) Tobin Heath (USA/Portland Thorns) Amandine Henry (FRA/Olympique de Lyon) Sofia Jakobsson (SWE/CD Tacon) Sam Kerr (AUS/Chicago Red Star) Rose Lavelle (USA/Washington Spirit) Dszenifer Maroszsan (GER/Olympique de Lyon) Marta (BRA/Orlando Pride) Lieke Martens (NED/Barcelona) Viviane Miedema (GER/Arsenal) Alex Morgan (USA/Orlando Pride) Megan Rapinoe (USA/Reign FC) Wendie Renard (FRA/Olympique de Lyon) Sari van Veenendaal (NED/Atlético de Madrid) Ellen White (ENG/Manchester City)
Kopa Trophy nominees
This award is given to the best player younger than 21. The shortlist is:
Samuel Chukwueze (NIG/Villarreal) Matthijs de Ligt (NED/Juventus) Mattéo Guendouzi (FRA/Arsenal) Joao Félix (POR/Atlético de Madrid) Kai Havertz (GER/Bayer Leverkusen) Kang-In Lee (KOR/Valencia) Moise Kean (ITA/Everton) Andrey Lunin (UKR/Valladolid) Jadon Sancho (ENG/Borussia Dortmund) Vinicius Jr. (BRA/Real Madrid)
Yashin Trophy nominees
This award is given for the best goalkeeper. The shortlist is:
Alisson Becker (BRA/Liverpool) Ederson (BRA/Manchester City) Samir Handanovic (SLO/Inter Milan) Kepa Arrizabalaga (SPA/Chelsea) Hugo Lloris (FRA/Tottenham) Manuel Neuer (GER/Bayern Munich) Jan Oblak (SLO/Atlético de Madrid) André Onana (CAM/Ajax) Wojciech Szczesny (POL/Juventus) Marc-André ter Stegen (GER/Barcelona)