It was yesterday officially confirmed that Spurs keeper Hugo Lloris has made the 30-man nominee list for the Ballon d’Or, with the full list of nominees announced throughout Monday and the winner set to be announced on awards evening in January.
The Spurs goalkeeper made kit onto the nominee list for the prestigious award and joins big names such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and former Tottenham man Gareth Bale.
As well as Kevin De Bryne, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Paul Pogba making their way onto the list, Riyad Mahrez along with Jamie Vardy, Sergio Aguero and Dimitri Payet are the only players on the list to have played in the Premier League last season.
Lloris joins three other goalkeepers that have made it into the shortlist, those being Manuel Neuer, Rui Patricio and Gianluigi Buffon.
Spurs fans took to Twitter to react to the news that their goalkeeper had made it onto the list of Ballon d’Or nominees.
A Spurs player nominated for a FIFA Ballon d’Or award, great moment for Lloris & Spurs as a club, saves 10-12 points a season. #COYS#THFC
— Ricky Sacks (@RickSpur) 24 October 2016
So where is the party at when Hugo Lloris becomes the first ever goalkeeper to win the Ballon d’Or in January?
— Spurs In The Blood (@SpursInTheBlood) 24 October 2016
Lloris won’t win due to attacking competition for the award but great to see him recognised for the brilliant player he is #ballondor #COYS
— Glen Naylor (@Glen_Naylor) 24 October 2016
Good to see Lloris finally getting some recognition. #ballondor
— Aly (@Alyha55an) 24 October 2016
Nice to see Lloris being shown some recognition #BalondOr shortlist.
— Steve Sullivan (@SteveSully85) 24 October 2016
Lloris has been shortlisted for a Ballon d’Or, well deserved the guy is outstanding. #THFC #COYS
— Thomas Rule (@ThomRule) 24 October 2016
Well deserved nomination for Lloris, hope he wins it now #BallonDor
— ston (@ormondmorrissey) 24 October 2016
Lloris has been a crucial part of the Spurs team, and has made a large number of key saves to keep Spurs in games over the years since he joined the club, making the switch to White Hart Lane.
Saves against Bayer Leverkusen and Bournemouth show just how valuable the Frenchman is to Spurs, having kept clean sheets this season and saving two points in two recent goalless draws.
Lloris will not start for Spurs in the EFL Cup tie against Liverpool at Anfield, with Michel Vorm set to step into starting line-up on Tuesday night. However, the Frenchman is expected to return to the starting eleven against Leicester on Saturday.
The Spurs keeper is a world-class individual and can pull off some great saves between the sticks. You just have to look at his save against Bayer Leverkusen to see why Lloris is among the very best in the world and fully deserves his nomination.
