Pablo Zabaleta: 'Sergio Aguero will be nominated for Ballon d'Or'

Manchester City defender Pablo Zabaleta has claimed that it will only be a matter of time before teammate Sergio Aguero is nominated for the Ballon d'Or.

The award, given by FIFA to the male player considered to have performed the best in the previous calendar year, is one of football's top personal accolades.

Zabaleta told BBC Sport: "I would love to see a City player nominated for the Ballon d'Or one day. We have a very strong squad with top players.

"At the moment Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are the best two in the world but we also have very good players. Sergio Aguero, if he keeps fit during the whole season, will have a chance to be there one day."

Since the award's inception in 2010, the yearly three-man shortlist has only ever been contested by players from three clubs - Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Bayern Munich.