The Ballon d’Or 2024 nominees were announced on Wednesday and it was the first time since 2003 that neither Cristiano Ronaldo nor Lionel Messi has been part of the list.
Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland were the highlights of the list alongside England prodigy Jude Bellingham while Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams, two young stars of Spain’s victorious 2024 European Championship were also included.
After being nominated for the first time in 2006, Messi won the prestigious award a record eight times, the most recent one coming in 2023, following his FIFA World Cup 2022 triumph with Argentina in Qatar.
Ronaldo, on the other hand, was nominated for the first time in 2004 and has won the award five times.
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Their omission from the list of nominations is likely due to leaving top-flight European club football, with Ronaldo having moved to Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia and Messi to Inter Miami in USA.
Take a look at where Messi and Ronaldo have finished in the Ballon d’Or list since 2004:
(With inputs from AP)
