Thursday the 7th of December will see one of the biggest personal accolades in world football awarded in the form of the Ballon d'Or. Ahead of the awards show in Paris, beIN SPORTS has decided to give you everything you need to know about the Thursday evening event.

What time does it start?

The awards show will start at 9:45pm MECCA, and will be hosted by former French international player David Ginola.

How can I watch the show?

The Ballon d'Or awards show will be streamed on beIN SPORTS CONNECT

How is the award decided?

The prestigious award is decided by 173 journalists from around the world and is awarded on behalf of France Football magazine. The Ballon d'Or was first awarded in 1956 and previous winners include Johan Cruyff, Michel Platini and Zinedine Zidane.

The Nominees

Thirty of the very best players from across Europe have been nominated this season. Eleven nominees have come from La Liga, Seven from the English Premier League, five from Italy, four from Ligue 1 in France and three from the Bundesliga. The full list of nominees is noted below.

Neymar - Paris Saint-Germain

N'Golo Kante - Chelsea

Luka Modric - Real Madrid

Paulo Dybala - Juventus 

Marcelo - Real Madrid 

Edin Dzeko - Roma

Harry Kane - Tottenham

David De Gea - Manchester United

Robert Lewandowski - Bayern Munich

Kevin De Bruyne - Manchester City

Karim Benzema - Real Madrid

Pierre-Emerick Aubemyang - Borussia Dortmund

Edinson Cavani - Paris Saint-Germain

Lionel Messi - Barcelona

Mats Hummels - Bayern Munich

Philippe Coutinho - Liverpool

Luis Suarez - Barcelona

Jan Oblak - Atletico Madrid

Sergio Ramos - Real Madrid

Dries Mertens - Napoli 

Radamel Falcao - Monaco

Sadio Mane - Liverpool

Gianluigi Buffon - Juventus

Antoine Griezmann - Atletico Madrid

Toni Kroos - Real Madrid

Cristiano Ronaldo - Real Madrid

Eden Hazard - Chelsea 

Leonardo Bonucci - AC Milan

Isco - Real Madrid 

Kylian Mbappe - Paris Saint-Germain

Messi Vs Ronaldo- Again?

Realistically this is going to be another battle between Lionel Messi & Cristiano Ronaldo for the top award. It has been either Messi or Ronaldo for the last eight years. Messi has the edge with five awards, Ronaldo is just behind with four awards.

Real Madrid striker Ronaldo is the favourite for the award this season, having helped Los Blancos to the La Liga title and help his side retain the Champions League title last season.