Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy makes Ballon d'Or shortlist

Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy has been named among the 30 players shortlisted for the prestigious Ballon d'Or trophy.

The 29-year-old is the only English representative in the list of contenders, which also includes five-time winner Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, who has taken the gong home on three occasions.

Vardy and his Leicester teammate Riyad Mahrez have been nominated following their influential performances in last season's shock Premier League title win.

Throughout the day, France Football has been releasing the names of the contenders, and now the shortlist is completed.

Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Hugo Lloris has been included, along with Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba, West Ham United's Dimitri Payet and Barcelona trio Luis Suarez, Neymar and Messi.

With regards to those who missed out, United goalkeeper David de Gea was a notable omission, while Arsenal pair Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez also failed to make the shortlist.

Ballon d'Or 30-man shortlist:

Sergio Aguero (Manchester City)
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Borussia Dortmund)
Gareth Bale (Real Madrid)
Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)
Paulo Dybala (Juventus)
Diego Godin (Atlético Madrid)
Antoine Griezmann (Atlético Madrid)
Gonzalo Higuain (Napoli/Juventus)
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (PSG/Manchester United)
Andres Iniesta (Barcelona)
Koke (Atletico Madrid)
Toni Kroos (Real Madrid)
Robert Lewandowski (Bayern)
Hugo Lloris (Tottenham Hotspur)
Riyad Mahrez (Leicester City)
Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona)
Luka Modric (Real Madrid)
Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich)
Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich)
Neymar (Barcelona)
Dimitri Payet (West Ham United)
Pepe (Real Madrid)
Paul Pogba (Manchester United)
Rui Patricio (Sporting Portugal)
Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid)
Luis Suarez (Barcelona)
Jamie Vardy (Leicester City)
Arturo Vidal (Bayern Munich)