Socceroo Massimo Luongo has been nominated for this year’s Ballon d’Or, joining the likes of world superstars Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in the reckoning for the prestigious award.
The 23-year-old has reportedly been included on an extended list of 59-players for the world footballer of the year title, thanks largely to his exploits in the Socceroos’ AFC Asian Cup triumph.
Luongo was named player of the tournament after some break-out performances on home soil, including scoring the opener in Australia’s 2-1 win over Korea Republic in the final.
The midfielder also had an eye-catching season with Swindon Town in England’s League One which saw him move to Championship club Queens Park Rangers in the off-season.
The news is strong recognition for Luongo, who aside from Messi and Ronaldo joins the likes of Wayne Rooney, Gareth Bale, Neymar, Luis Suarez, Andrea Pirlo, Paul Pogba and Manuel Neuer as nominees.
Luongo also joins an elite company of Aussies to have previosly been named in the running for the award, which includes Tim Cahill and Harry Kewell.
The 2015 Ballon d’Or shortlist will be whittled down to 23 candidates later in the year with the winner set to be announced at a FIFA awards ceremony in January.
Nominees for 2015 Ballon d'Or by club
Claudio Bravo - Barcelona
Javier Mascherano - Barcelona
Andres Iniesta - Barcelona
Lionel Messi - Barcelona
Ivan Rakitic - Barcelona
Neymar - Barcelona
Luis Suarez - Barcelona
Gareth Bale - Real Madrid
Karim Benzema - Real Madrid
Sergio Ramos - Real Madrid
Cristiano Ronaldo - Real Madrid
Luka Modric - Real Madrid
James Rodriguez - Real Madrid
Toni Kroos - Real Madrid
Giorgio Chiellini - Juventus
Paul Pogba - Juventus
Alvaro Morata - Juventus
Arturo Vidal - Juventus/Bayern
Andrea Pirlo - Juventus/NYCFC
Carlos Tevez - Juventus/Boca
Robert Lewandowski - Bayern
Arjen Robben - Bayern
David Alaba - Bayern
Thomas Muller - Bayern
Manuel Neuer - Bayern
Wilfried Bony - Manchester City
Yaya Toure - Manchester City
Sergio Aguero - Manchester City
Nicolas Otamendi - Valencia/Manchester City
Kevin de Bruyne - Wolfsburg/Manchester City
Diego Costa - Chelsea
Willian - Chelsea
Thibaut Courtois - Chelsea
Eden Hazard - Chelsea
Edinson Cavani - PSG
Zlatan Ibrahimovic - PSG
Javier Pastore - PSG
Wayne Rooney - Manchester United
David de Gea - Manchester United
Memphis Depay - PSV/Manchester United
David Ospina - Arsenal
Alexis Sanchez - Arsenal
Antoine Griezmann - Atletico Madrid
Jackson Martinez - Porto/Atletico Madrid
Carlos Bacca - Sevilla/AC Milan
Giovani dos Santos - Villarreal/LA Galaxy
Phillippe Coutinho - Liverpool
Son Heung-Min - Leverkusen/Tottenham
Christian Atsu - Everton/Bournemouth
Paolo Guerrero - Flamengo/Corinthians
Eduardo Vargas - QPR/Hoffenheim
Gary Medel - Inter
Harry Kane - Tottenham
Alexandre Lacazette - Lyon
Andres Guardado - PSV
Carlos Sanchez - River Plate
Andre Ayew - Marseille/Swansea
Massimo Luongo - Swindon/QPR
Shinji Okazaki - Mainz/Leicester