Cristiano Ronaldo leads the final 30-man list of nominations for the Ballon d'Or and hopes to add a fifth title to draw level with Lionel Messi.

The Premier League representation is led by Eden Hazard after he helped guide Chelsea to the Premier League title last term.

Several omissions have raised eyebrows though with Alexis Sanchez drawing outrage from the Arsenal faithful.

Here's four more who, alongside the Chilean, who can consider themselves unfortunate to miss out on the prestigious 30.

Casemiro (Real Madrid/Brazil)

Casemiro has proven to be an indispensable piece for Zidane's Madrid (
Image:
Bongarts)


The Brazilian midfielder became a lynchpin for Zinedine Zidane in 2015-16, and during the 2016-17 season took his game to another level.

Sitting in front of the back four, he both offered a defensive protection and assurance in possession for the European champions, and was outstanding when the big games came around.

He also added big goals, a couple of long-range fliers - notably against Napoli and Juventus in the Champions League - showed that his talent has continued to blossom further.

Doesn’t get the plaudits of Messrs. Kroos and Modric, but perhaps should and is bitterly unlucky to miss out on the 30-man shortlist.

Gonzalo Higuain (Juventus/Argentina)

Gonzalo Higuain misses out despite firing Juventus to the brink of Champions League glory (
Image:
AFP)

Much-maligned by some for his high-profile misses, nobody can deny he is an elite centre-forward over the course of a season.

While Pipita might be incapable of dragging a team like Juventus over the line for a Champions League, he can take them to the brink, which many other teams would take.

The 29-year-old managed 32 goals in all competitions last year, in addition to five in Europe's biggest club competition.

Edin Dzeko enjoyed a great year with Roma, but Higuain performed at a higher level and, judging by the Real Madrid nominees, deserved it more due to his team's collective achievement.

Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich/Germany)

Many still consider Neuer the best goalkeeper in the world (
Image:
Bongarts/Getty Images)

The consensus best goalkeeper on the planet has been omitted.

While Neuer's season was cut short through injury, his absence has not been prolonged enough to miss out altogether, especially with three other goalkeepers making the list.

David De Gea, Gianluigi Buffon and Jan Oblak make the list, but while others lean on their reputation, Neuer can consider himself unfortunate to not be recognised this year.

Last year's third place therefore fails to make the final cut.

Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal/Chile)

Sanchez, celebrating for Chile, could move away from Arsenal (
Image:
LatinContent WO)

The Arsenal star had a sensational year leading the Gunners and Chile.

He ended the season with 30 goals in all competitions and inspired Arsenal to glory against Chelsea in the FA Cup final.

A pivotal winner against Ecuador looks to have set up La Roja for an automatic place at Russia 2018, too, which makes his exclusion even more baffling given his country's prominence in international football in recent years.

Ousmane Dembele (Borussia Dortmund/Barcelona/France)

Ousmane Dembele is now out injured for Barcelona (
Image:
AFP)

The second most expensive player in the world has failed to make the final cut for this year's Ballon d'Or award.

Barcelona shelled out £135.5m to prize the French starlet away from Borussia Dortmund.

His excellent campaign should not be forgotten, despite suffering an injury already at the Camp Nou.

Dembele hit 10 goals and added 21 more assists to convince the Blaugrana he can replace Neymar after his move to PSG.

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