Rapinoe named but Modric, Neymar miss out on Ballon D'Or shortlist

While Megan Rapinoe is the leading candidate for the second ever women's Ballon D'Or, the holder of the men's award, Luka Modric, and the world's most expensive player, Neymar, missed out as France Football unveiled the nominees on Monday.

Rapinoe dominated the Women's World Cup, on and off the field, in the summer.

She was joint top scorer and was voted player of the tournament as she led the United States to victory in France in July.

In this file photo taken on July 7, 2019 United States' forward Megan Rapinoe poses with the Golden Ball after the France 2019 Women’s World Cup football final match between USA and the Netherlands, at the Lyon Stadium in Lyon, central-eastern France. [Photo: AFP/CHRISTOPHE SIMON]

The 34-year-old Reign FC playmaker, already a campaigner for LGBT rights and gender equality, made headlines during the tournament by publicly taking on US President Donald Trump.

In the men's category, last year Modric, fresh from guiding Croatia to a World Cup final, broke the 11-year Cristiano Ronaldo-Lionel Messi, who are both included, stranglehold on the award.

Messi has just collected the FIFA Best award, as did Rapinoe, which split from the Ballon D'Or in 2016.