The 2024 Ballon d’Or nominees have been confirmed with Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi both left out of the award for the first time since 2003.
From the Premier League, Serie A, La Liga, Bundesliga, and French Ligue 1, footballers who starred for their clubs and countries in the 2023-24 campaign have once again been earmarked for the prestigious award.
World Cup winner and Argentina playmaker Lionel Messi won the award in 2023, extending his record of Ballon d’Or wins to eight.
Notably, while Al-Nassr forward and five times winner of the the award Cristiano Ronaldo was excluded from Ballon d’Or nominees in 2023, his arch-rival Messi controversially made the nominees and subsequently won it.
Now, the 2024 edition of the award has seen the two legendary footballers, who have shared the award 13 times between them, excluded simultaneously for the first time since 2003.
Real Madrid players dominate 2024 Ballon d’Or nominees list
Real Madrid players have taken the lion’s share of names that have been nominated for the prestigious award. The Los Blancos won their record 15th UEFA Champions League title last season and have rightly gotten their biggest stars listed for the award.
Leading the list of Los Blancos stars nominated for the award is Jude Bellingham. Bellingham had a prolific debut campaign with Real Madrid last season. He scored 19 La Liga goals with six assists to propel the team to La Liga triumph.
He took the brilliant domestic run to the European scene, scoring four goals with five assists in 11 Champions League matches to help the team win the UEFA Champions League. Bellingham also starred for England in the 2024 Euros, scoring two goals with an assist as England qualified for the finals of the competition, where they lost to Spain.
Bellingham’s club teammate, Vinicius Jr, who is considered a top favourite to win the award, has also been named on the list. Vinicius Jr scored 15 goals with four assists in their La Liga-winning campaign last season.
His La Liga tally was less than Jude Bellingham’s but he outscored the fellow Galactico in the Champions League, having netted six times with four assists. Notably, the Real Madrid star could not replicate his remarkable club performance with the Brazil national team in the football year. Brazil crashed out of Copa America 2024 in the quarterfinals.
Other Real Madrid players who have made the list are Federico Valverde, Antony Rudiger, Kylian Mbappe, and former Real Madrid player Toni Kroos.
Erling Haaland and other Premier League players in 2024 Ballon d’Or nominees list
Manchester City forward Erling Haaland is leading the list of Premier League players who have been nominated for the award. The Norwegian attacking sensation recorded another impressive campaign with Manchester City. He won the Premier League title and the Premier League’s Golden Boot for the second time in a row.
His Manchester City teammate, Rodri, who won the 2024 Euros with Spain has also made the list. 2023-24 Premier League Player of the Season Phil Foden is also on the list. Other Premier League players in the list include Arsenal trio Bukayo Saka, William Saliba, and Declan Rice, Cole Palmer of Chelsea, and Ruben Dias of Manchester City
Also, renowned players that have been included in the list are Borussia Dortmund legend Mats Hummels, Bayer Leverkusen and Spanish midfield sensation Alejandro Grimaldo, Lautaro Martinez of Inter Milan, Halkan Calhanoglu, Barcelona youngster Lamine Yamal, Ademola Lookman of Atlanta, and others.
Below are all the players nominated for the 2024 Ballon d’Or:
- Jude Bellingham
- Ruben Dias
- Phil Foden
- Federico Valverde
- Emiliano Martinez
- Erling Haaland
- Nico Williams
- Granit Xhaka
- Artem Dovbik
- Toni Kroos
- Vinicius Jr
- Dani Olmo
- Matt Hummels
- Florian Wirtz
- Cole Palmer
- Martin Odegaard
- Harry Kane
- Rodri
- Declan Rice
- Vitinha
- Dani Carvalja
- Lamine Yamal
- William Saliba
- Hakan Calhanoglu
- Bukayo Saka
- Kylian Mbappe
- Lautaro Martinez
- Ademola Lookman
- Antonio Rudiger
- Alejandro Grimaldo
How the 2024 Ballon d’Or award voting is done
A point-based system is used to select who will become the winner of the Ballon d’Or. Voting is done by reputable football journalists from the top 100 FIFA member associations in the world. A journalist is allowed to pick three nominees.
The three nominees will be ranked by the journalist based on his preference for who best deserves the award. The first-ranked player gets five points. The second has three points and the third has one point. The player with the most points after calculating all the votes is the winner.
Who do you think will win the 2024 Ballon d’Or award?
