The shortlist for the 2018 Ballon d’Or award has gradually been announced today, with the usual suspects all cropping up once again.
Being the roguish little teases they are, France Football drip-dripped their list in five-player increments over the course of the afternoon, with all 30 names now present and accounted for.
Here are the nominees, in the precise order they were revealed…
Neymar (PSG)
Luka Modric (Real Madrid)
Pablo Dybala (Juventus)
Marcelo (Real Madrid)
N’Golo Kante (Chelsea)
Luis Suarez (Barcelona)
Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid)
Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid)
Philippe Coutinho (Liverpool)
Dries Mertens (Napoli)
Kevin De Bruyne (Man City)
Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
David De Gea (Manchester United)
Harry Kane (Tottenham)
Edin Dzeko (Roma)
Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid)
Toni Kroos (Real Madrid)
Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus)
Sadio Mane (Liverpool)
Radamel Falcao (Monaco)
Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Dortmund)
Edinson Cavani (PSG)
Mats Hummels (Bayern Munich)
Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
Eden Hazard (Chelsea)
Leonardo Bonucci (AC Milan)
Isco (Real Madrid)
Kylian Mbappe (PSG)
A pair of shouts for Liverpool is faintly impressive, though only until you realise neither Coutinho or Mane will end up anywhere near the podium.
As per usual, the long-list is largely redundant, with Messi, Ronaldo and N.E. Other (probably Neymar again) almost certain to be contesting the trinket as and when it all gets whittled down to the final three.