Ballon d'Or Rondo: Does Harry Kane have a chance? Will Rodri's Spain performances be enough? Can a 30-man shortlist be taken seriously?

Tom Hindle: Not to be that guy, but snooze? Thirty players are simply way too many to make any sort of serious judgment as to a whole body of work. With all due respect to Saudi Pro League top scorer Julian Quinones, for example, how can we even put him in the same stratosphere as, say, Lamine Yamal? If there were 15, all of which are in the same ballpark of quality, then sure. Otherwise, meh.

Ryan Tolmich: Thirty is just big enough to feel like everyone should be included, but small enough that there are some infuriating exclusions. Realistically, it is what it is, and there are only a handful of actual contenders anyway, but it would still be nice to have a list with a little bit less to argue about.

Alex Labidou: The 30-player shortlists are a bit of a joke. They’re so all-encompassing that merely being nominated doesn’t carry quite the same weight, and there were still some questionable snubs despite how large the fields are. Still, the best players in both the men’s and women’s races are there, so there aren’t too many complaints at the very top.

TH: Quinones, by far. He's a good footballer, and that he scored more goals than Cristiano Ronaldo in the Saudi Pro League is pretty funny. But he's miles off some of the talent here.

RT: Not a surprise, but more so a cool story. Two years ago, Julian Quinones was a Liga MX lifer hoping to make waves after switching his international allegiance from Colombia to Mexico. Now, after a strong World Cup and a Golden Boot-winning season in Saudi Arabia, he's been recognized as one of the best 30 players in the world. That's a cool story, one centering around a 29-year-old attacker who likely never saw himself getting this type of honor.

AL: Julián Quiñones. He’s coming off a ridiculous season in the Middle East and scored four times at the World Cup, so this isn’t to say he doesn’t deserve recognition. But this is where having 30 nominees gets a little silly. There are players such as Harry Kane and Michael Olise who have legitimate cases to win the award. Does Quiñones really have any chance? Willian Pacho? Both are excellent players, but a shortlist should really be reserved for players you can make a credible argument for winning the thing.

TH: Someone wanna explain to me why Raphinha isn't here?

RT: Pour one out for the goalkeepers, who weren't recognized at all among the 30 nominees. It didn't help, of course, that David Raya, who might have had the best case, didn't play at the World Cup. It also didn't help that Unai Simon, who started over Raya and had a great tournament, didn't win anything with Athletic Bilbao. Even so, it's important to show love to all positions, and goalkeepers received none this time.

AL: On a list this extensive, there is no way Raphinha should have been left off. He finished fifth in the voting last year and, yes, dealt with injuries for Barcelona and wasn’t at his absolute best for Brazil at the World Cup. But he remains one of the best players in the world and still produced 21 goals and seven assists in 33 club appearances last season. On a 30-player list, that should be more than enough for a nomination.

TH: It's really tough this year, because there hasn't been a stratospheric standout player who did it at all levels. BUT my 3 finalists are: Harry Kane, Rodri and Michael Olise.

RT: Spain should be highlighted, and they will be with Rodri and Lamine Yamal. Who claims that third spot, though? Is it Harry Kane, who was dominant with Bayern Munich? Is it Kylian Mbappe, who scored boatloads for France and Real Madrid? Could it be Lionel Messi for his World Cup heroics? Or could it be none from that group? While all candidates are flawed, let's go with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, whose dominance with PSG should be recognized and whose World Cup absence with Georgia shouldn't be held against him.

AL: Harry Kane, Michael Olise and Mbappé.

TH: Kane. He scored for fun last year for Bayern, and there is absolutely zero shame in getting knocked out of the World Cup at a semifinal stage. Rodri will push him for his performances over the summer, but his inconsistency for City cannot be overlooked.

RT: It feels wrong to boil down a year-long award to a few games in the summer, but that's what happens in a World Cup year. Rodri was the guy this summer, which means voters could and probably will be swayed by his importance to Spain. If you're looking for the balance of club and country achievements, though, Lamine Yamal fits the bill, although his candidacy has plenty of holes, too. In truth, there's no real obvious choice, which is why Yamal might just claim it for his combination of play for both teams.

AL: Kane is the odds-on favorite, and with the sheer number of goals he scored, he should be. But as Robert Lewandowski has shown in the past, being the best goal-scoring No. 9 in the world doesn’t always guarantee you this trophy. Ballon d’Or voters have often gravitated toward more multidimensional attackers and midfielders.

Still, this feels like Kane’s year. At 33, this might be his best - and perhaps last - real opportunity to win it. After the season he just had for Bayern and England, expect him to become the first Englishman since Michael Owen to lift the Ballon d’Or.