Correct us if we’re wrong, but we’re pretty sure this makes Jamie Vardy the first former Stocksbridge Park Steels player to have been nominated for the Ballon D’Or.
The Leicester City striker’s name sits alongside the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi on the shortlist for the 2016 award, in recognition of the goal scoring run that fired his club to the Premier League title last season.
Sadly, as much as it would make for another heart-warming scene in the upcoming Jamie Vardy: The Movie, there’s surely little chance of the 29-year-old actually winning the thing. The award has been won by either Messi or Ronaldo since 2008, and the Portuguese’s Champions League and Euro 2016 double is expected to be enough to see him win his fourth Ballon D’Or.
Still, having won the Premier League this year, making the 30-man list of nominees is yet another incredible achievement for the striker.
Here’s the full list of nominees:
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 (Atletico Madrid)
Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid)
Gonzalo Higuain (Juventus)
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Manchester United)
Andres Iniesta (Barcelona)
Koke (Atletico Madrid)
Toni Kroos (Real Madrid)
Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
Hugo Lloris (Tottenham)
Riyad Mahrez (Leicester City)
Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Luka Modric (Real Madrid)
Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich)
Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich)
Neymar (Barcelona)
Dimitri Payet (West Ham)
Pepe (Real Madrid)
Paul Pogba (Juventus/Manchester United)
Rui Patricio (Sporting)
Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid)
Luis Suarez (Barcelona)
Jamie Vardy (Leicester City)
Arturo Vidal (Bayern Munich)
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