Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo and his Real Madrid team-mate Gareth Bale have been shortlisted for this year's coveted Ballon d'Or award.
Ronaldo, who won the Ballon d'Or title in 2008, 2013 and 2014, is front-runner for this year's award after inspiring Real Madrid to the Champions League glory and Portugal to Euro 2016 trophy.
Manchester City's Sergio Aguero, Borussia Dortmund's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon are also included in the 30-man shortlist.
Besides them, Kevin De Bruyne, Antoine Griezmann , Paulo Dybala, Gonzalo Higuain and Diego Godin are in the second set of nominees.
The names of the rest of the players are scheduled to be announced later on Monday.
Manchester United's Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic is also on the list, while Barcelona's Argentine superstar Lionel Messi is expected to be added later.
Ballon d'Or sponsors France Football magazine, who are organising the trophy on their own after the end of their partnership with FIFA, are releasing the names of the 30 players in batches of five over the course of Monday.
The prestigious individual prize will be judged solely by a panel of journalists.
The first Ballon d'Or was won by Stanley Matthews, who beat Alfredo Di Stefano for the inaugural title in 1956.
Last year's honour went to Ronaldo's arch rival Messi, who won it for the fifth time.
