Ronaldo, Courtois, Godin, Firmino, De Bruyne named for Ballon d'Or (Lead

Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo, Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, Uruguay defender Diego Godin and Brazil forward Roberto Firmino were nominated by France Football magazine on Monday for the prestigious Ballon d'Or awards.

The five players were named in the second round of the 30-nominee list, joining the first round that included Real Madrid pair, France forward Karim Benzema and Wales winger Gareth Bale, Manchester City's forward Sergio Aguero of Argentina, Paris Saint-Germain forward Edinson Cavani of Uruguay and Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker of Brazil, reports Efe news.

Juventus forward Ronaldo, winner of the last two editions of the award, will be looking forward to winning his sixth award after claiming his third straight UEFA Champions League title with Real Madrid in 2018 before moving to the Italian club.

Real Madrid goalie Courtois was named the best goalkeeper in the 2018 World Cup in Russia after leading Belgium to finish third in this tournament.

Godin managed to win the UEFA Europa League title in 2018 with Atletico Madrid.

Firmino, who just turned 27, was a finalist of the UEFA Champions League with Liverpool while De Bruyne, 27, won the English Premier League with Manchester City.

Throughout the day, the online edition of the magazine will progressively unveil the remaining 20 candidates for the prize.

The winner of the award will be announced at a ceremony on December 3.

--IANS

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