Cristiano Ronaldo looks to defend his title, but will face stiff competition, once again.

The Ballon d'Or 2018 is right around the corner, but before the winner can be crowned comes the list of nominees. Those announcements are rolling on Monday, with France Football revealing the candidates for their coveted prize.

The French magazine is announcing their 30-man shortlist in groups of five spread throughout the day. The first batch was revealed early in the morning via Twitter, nominating Sergio Aguero, Alisson, Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema, and Edinson Cavani for this prestigious prize.

Cristiano Ronaldo is the man defending this year's trophy. The Portuguese icon lifted the award last year after guiding Real Madrid to the Champions League and La Liga titles in 2017. The five-time winner then led the Spanish giant to a third-consecutive European title in 2018 and is seen as the favorite in the eyes of many for this reason.

However, he will likely face stiff competition from a player other than arch-rival Lionel Messi. That man is former team-mate Luka Modric. The midfielder is tipped as the man to end the Ronaldo-Messi dominance, having been part of Los Blancos' European success and Croatia's unforgettable World Cup campaign.

The Real Madrid man won the Golden Ball at Russia 2018. He then followed up on that with his UEFA Player of the Year and The Best FIFA Men's Player triumphs. His eyes will now be on the Ballon d'Or.

France Football has introduced a Ballon d'Or for women this year, with that 15-name shortlist also scheduled to be unveiled today, on October 8 on L'Equipe TV. Olympique Lyonnais Féminin is expected to dominate that award after winning a third straight UEFA Women's Champions League title earlier this year.

However, it is the men's prize that will dominate the headlines. Will Ronaldo win a record sixth Ballon d'Or? Will Modric end the Cristiano-Lionel reign? Or will the prize go to a World Cup winner? Those are one of many questions in the minds of football fans.

Here are the confirmed nominees for the Men's Ballon d'Or 2018:

  1. Sergio Aguero (Man City and Argentina)

  2. Alisson Becker (Roma/Liverpool and Brazil)

  3. Gareth Bale (Real Madrid and Wales)

  4. Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)

  5. Edinson Cavani (PSG and Uruguay)

  6. Thibaut Courtois (Chelsea/Real Madrid and Belgium)

  7. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid/Juventus and Portugal)

  8. Kevin de Bruyne (Man City and Belgium)

  9. Roberto Firmino (Liverpool and Brazil)

  10. Diego Godin (Atletico Madrid and Uruguay)

  11. Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid and France)

  12. Eden Hazard (Chelsea and Belgium)

  13. Isco (Real Madrid and Spain)

  14. Harry Kane (Tottenham and England)

  15. N'Golo Kante (Chelsea and France)

  16. Hugo Lloris (Tottenham & France)

  17. Mario Mandzukic (Juventus & Croatia)

  18. Sadio Mane (Liverpool & Senegal)

  19. Marcelo (Real Madrid & Brazil)

  20. Lionel Messi (Barcelona & Argentina)

  21. Luka Modric (Real Madrid & Croatia)

  22. Neymar Jr. (PSG & Brazil)

  23. Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid & Slovenia)

  24. Paul Pogba (Manchester United & France)

  25. Ivan Rakitic (Barcelona & Croatia)

  26. Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid & Spain)

  27. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool & Egypt)

  28. Luis Suarez (Barcelona & Uruguay)

  29. Raphael Varane (Real Madrid & France)

  30. Kylian Mbappe (PSG & France)