Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker has been shortlisted for the 2018 Ballon d’Or.
The 30 candidates for the annual prize, presented by France Football magazine, are being unveiled periodically on Monday – and the Reds stopper was among the first five nominees to be revealed.
No goalkeeper has won the prestigious prize, which has been dominated by Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi for the past decade.
But in 2006 Italian goalkeeping legend Gianlugi Buffon was runner up to winner Fabio Cannavaro.
Kaka won it in 2007 but since then Ronaldo and Messi have shared five Ballon D’Ors apiece.
The Reds goalkeeper has made an impressive start to life at Anfield, recording five clean sheets in 10 appearances so far.
He joined Sergio Aguero (Argentina/Manchester City), Gareth Bale (Wales/Real Madrid), Karim Benzema (France/Real Madrid) and Edinson Cavani (Uruguay/Paris Saint-Germain) in the first batch of names revealed.
Team-mate Mo Salah is expected to join him later in the day but clear favourite to lift the prize and add to his FIFA Men’s Player of the Year trophy is Real Madrid’s Croatian midfielder Luka Modric.
Source:Echo