Eden Hazard joins Chelsea teammate N'Golo Kante as 2017 Ballon d'Or nominee

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Jack Rosser @JackRosser_9 October 2017

Chelsea star Eden Hazard has been nominated for the 2017 Ballon d’Or.

The Belgian international, who starred as Antonio Conte’s side lifted the Premier League title in the Italian’s first season in charge, scored 17 goals in all competitions last term.

Hazard is one of a number of Premier League stars to be shortlisted for the award, run solely by France Football after FIFA ended their tie with the sought after award last season.

Teammate N’Golo Kante has been nominated while elsewhere Tottenham’s Harry Kane is another headline on the 30-man shortlist.

In Manchester both Kevin de Bruyne and David de Gea have been nominated, alongside Liverpool’s Sadio Mane.

The initial 30-man list will be whittled down to three before the winner is announced early next year.

Should either Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi win once more it would mark a decade of domination for the pair, with Brazilian Kaka the last to win the award (2007) other than the Real Madrid or Barcelona stars.