Premier League trio up for Ballon dOr
30 Nov 2009 - 08:08:23
Premier League trio Wayne Rooney, Didier Drogba and Steven Gerrard have
all been shortlisted for the prestigious Ballon d'Or award.
Manchester United forward Rooney, Chelsea striker Drogba and
Liverpool skipper Gerrard have been named on the 10-man shortlist in
the race to be named the 2009 European Football of the Year.
However, joining them on the elite list are four players from reigning European champions Barcelona.
Their Argentina star Lionel Messi is the frontrunner for this
year's accolade and has been nominated alongside midfield team-mates
Xavi and Andres Iniesta, plus summer signing from Internazionale Zlatan
Ibrahimovic.
Meanwhile, former Premier League star and reigning World and
European Footballer of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo has also been
shortlisted.
The former Manchester United winger is joined on the list by new Real Madrid team-mate Kaka.
The 10th player in the running is former Barcelona and now Internazionale striker Samuel Eto'o.
2009 Ballon d'Or shortlist: Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast and
Chelsea), Samuel Eto'o (Cameroon and Internazionale), Steven Gerrard
(England and Liverpool), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden and Barcelona),
Andres Iniesta (Spain and Barcelona), Kaka (Brazil and Real Madrid),
Lionel Messi (Argentina and Barcelona), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal and
Real Madrid), Wayne Rooney (England and Manchester United), Xavi (Spain
and Barcelona).
