Jamie Vardy Becomes First Englishman Nominated for Ballon d'Or Since Wayne Rooney in 2012

Jamie Vardy has become the first Englishman to be nominated for FIFA's prestigious Ballon d'Or award since Wayne Rooney in 2012.

TheLeicester City hitman, who scored 24 times last season as the Foxes secured a historic Premier League triumph against all odds, joins the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Gareth Bale on the 30-man shortlist, which also includes his teammate Riyad Mahrez - the PFA Player of the Year for the 2015/16 season.

'Chat s**t, get nominated!' Twitter reacts to Jamie Vardy being up for #BallonDor https://t.co/AuPUchbBv9 pic.twitter.com/STVp6RMuuD

Vardy's nomination is the first recognition for an Englishman since Wayne Rooney finished 15th in the overall Ballon d'Or standings in 2012. Vardy's place on the list is well-deserved, having broke Ruud van Nistelrooy's record of scoring in consecutive Premier League games.

The 29-year-old striker - who was dropped by Claudio Ranieri for Leicester's 3-1 win over Crystal Palace at the weekend -is one of eight Premier League stars on the shortlist, with the other seven comprised of Manchester City pair Sergio Aguero and Kevin De Bruyne, Manchester United duo Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, West Ham maestro Dimitri Payet, along with teammateMahrez.

The last Englishman to win the Ballon d'Or was Michael Owen in 2001.

The Nominees

Sergio Agüero (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 Godín (Atlético Madrid); Antoine Griezmann (Atlético Madrid); Gonzalo Higuaín (Juventus); Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Manchester United); Andrés Iniesta (FC Barcelona); Koke (Atlético Madrid); Toni Kroos (Real Madrid); Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich); Hugo Lloris (Tottenham Hotspur); Riyad Mahrez (Leicester City); Lionel Messi (Barcelona); Luka Modric (Real Madrid); Thomas Müller (Bayern Munich); Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich); Neymar (Barcelona); Dimitri Payet (West Ham United); Pepe (Real Madrid); Paul Pogba (Manchester United); Rui Patrício (Sporting); Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid); Luis Suárez (FC Barcelona); Jamie Vardy (Leicester City); Arturo Vidal (Bayern Munich)