Dimitri Payet has been named on the shortlist for the 2016 Ballon D’Or alongside the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Lionel Messi.
The West Ham United midfielder has starred for both club and country this year as he helped France to the Euro 2016 final and led the Hammers to a seventh place Premier League finish.
The 29-year-old plundered 15 goals for club and country during his first season at West Ham and has carried that form into this campaign despite Slaven Bilic’s side’s early struggles.
Payet is one of eight Premier League players included on the list as he joins Sergio Aguero, Kevin De Bruyne, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Paul Pogba, Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez and Hugo Lloris.
Ronaldo and Messi have shared the last eight awards between each other and will be the front runners to scoop football’s biggest individual honour again in January.
The likes of Neymar and Luis Suarez will provide the biggest challenge to the star duo’s claim to extend their stranglehold on the award.
Breakthrough stars Paulo Dybala, Antoine Griezmann and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will provide further cause for concern to the world game's established top order.
Among the surprise omissions from the list are Manchester United keeper David De Gea, Arsenal playmaker Mesut Ozil and Juventus centre-back Leonardo Bonucci.
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