Real quartet up for award
Iván Helguera is one of four Real players nominated for this year's Golden Ball award, the coveted trophy organized by France Football magazine.
Iván Helguera is one of four Real players nominated for this year's Golden Ball award, the coveted trophy organized by France Football magazine.
The trophy was picked up last year by Luis Figo, who is in the running for this year's award along with Real Madrid team-mates Robert Carlos, Raúl González and Helguera.
But the Madrileno quartet will have to fight off stiff competition from the two odds on favourites - Liverpool's Michael Owen and AC Milan hitman Andrei Shevchenko, either of whom could be named as winner on Tuesday.
Amongst the 50 players nominated for the trophy are Thierry Henry, Gabriel Batistuta, Stefan Effenberg and David Beckham.