The 2018 Ballon d’Or is the 63rd annual award ceremony crowning the best footballer in the world for 2018. The 63rd edition of the Ballon d’Or will be held on Tuesday, December 4, in the French capital of Paris. For the first time in its history, the Ballon d’Or Féminin will be awarded to the best female and Kopa Trophy will be awarded to the best male under-21 footballer.
The Ballon d’Or ceremony will start at 1.20 AM IST on Tuesday, January 4 in the historic Grand Palais in Paris, France. Former Tottenham and France great David Ginola will host the Ballon d’Or 2018 awards ceremony.
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have won the award a record five times each. Three players have won the award three times each: Johan Cruyff of Ajax and Barcelona, Michel Platini of Juventus and Marco van Basten of Milan. With seven awards each, Dutch, German and Portuguese players won the most Ballons d’Or. Spanish club Barcelona has the most winners, with 11 wins.
The full list of Ballon d’Or 2018 shortlists:
| MEN | WOMEN | U-21 MEN |
| SERGIO AGUERO (Manchester City) | LUCY BRONZE (Lyon) | HOUSSEM AOUAR (Lyon) |
| GARETH BALE (Real Madrid) | PERNILLE HARDER (Wolfsburg) | TRENT ALEXANDER-ARNOLD (Liverpool) |
| ALISSON BECKER (Liverpool) | ADA HEGERBERG (Lyon) | PATRICK CUTRONE (Milan) |
| ISCO (Real Madrid) | AMANDINE HENRY (Lyon) | RITSU DOAN (Groningen) |
| HARRY KANE (Tottenham Hotspur) | LINDSEY HORAN (Portland Thorns) | GIANLUIGI DONNARUMMA (Milan) |
| N’GOLO KANTE (Chelsea) | FRAN KIRBY (Chelsea) | AMADOU HAIDARA (Red Bull Salzburg) |
| HUGO LLORIS (Tottenham Hotspur) | SAM KERR (Chicago Red Stars) | JUSTIN KLUIVERT (Roma) |
| MARIO MANDZUKIC (Juventus) | SAKI KUMAGAI (Lyon) | KYLIAN MBAPPE (Paris Saint Germain) |
| SADIO MANE (Liverpool) | AMEL MAJRI (Lyon) | CHRISTIAN PULISIC (Borussia Dortmund) |
| MARCELO (Real Madrid) | DZSENIFER MAROZSAN (Lyon) | RODRYGO (Santos) |
| KARIM BENZEMA (Real Madrid) | MARTA (Orlando Pride) | |
| EDINSON CAVANI (Paris Saint Germain) | LIEKE MARTENS (Barcelona) | |
| THIBAUT COURTOIS (Real Madrid) | MEGAN RAPINOE (Seattle Reign) | |
| CRISTIANO RONALDO (Juventus) | WENDIE RENARD (Lyon) | |
| KEVIN DE BRUYNE (Manchester City) | CHRISTINE SINCLAIR (Portland Thorns) | |
| ROBERTO FIRMINO (Liverpool) | ||
| DIEGO GODIN (Atletico Madrid) | ||
| ANTOINE GRIEZMANN (Atletico Madrid) | ||
| EDEN HAZARD (Chelsea) | ||
| KYLIAN MBAPPE (Paris Saint Germain) | ||
| LIONEL MESSI (Barcelona) | ||
| LUKA MODRIC (Real Madrid) | ||
| NEYMAR (Paris Saint Germain) | ||
| JAN OBLAK (Atletico Madrid) | ||
| PAUL POGBA (Manchester United) | ||
| IVAN RAKITIC (Barcelona) | ||
| LUIS SUAREZ (Barcelona) | ||
| RAPHAEL VARANE (Real Madrid) | ||
| SERGIO RAMOS (Real Madrid) | ||
| MOHAMED SALAH (Liverpool) |
