For the first time since 2003, both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are missing from the list of 30 players who have been nominated for the Ballon d’Or. Together, the two players have won 13 of the last 15 awards, Messi has eight to his name, while Ronaldo has five.

The Portuguese forward missed out on a nomination last year, while Messi was receiving the award for seemingly the last time. As they both now play outside of Europe, where the majority of footballing media pay the most attention, their dominance of the most prestigious individual award is now over.

🚨 OFFICIAL: Cristiano Ronaldo and Leo Messi, out of the Ballon d’Or nominees for the first time since 2003. pic.twitter.com/ROmuQ3Wa5j

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) September 4, 2024

Who has been nominated?

The following 30 players have been nominated for the 2024 Ballon d’Or:

Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid)

Ruben Dias (Manchester City)

Phil Foden (Manchester City)

Federico Valverde (Real Madrid)

Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa)

Erling Haaland (Manchester City)

Nico Williams (Athletic Bilbao)

Granit Xhaka (Bayer Leverkusen)

Artem Dovbyk (Girona)

Toni Kroos (Real Madrid)

Vinicius Jr. (Real Madrid)

Dani Olmo (RB Leipzig)

Florian Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen)

Martin Odegaard (Arsenal)

Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund)

Rodri (Manchester City)

Harry Kane (Bayern Munich)

Declan Rice (Arsenal)

Vitinha (PSG)

Cole Palmer (Chelsea)

Dani Carvajal (Real Madrid)

Lamine Yamal (Barcelona)

Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)

Hakan Calhanoglu (Inter Milan)

William Saliba (Arsenal)

Kylian Mbappe (PSG)

Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan)

Ademola Lookman (Atalanta)

Antonio Rudiger (Real Madrid)

Alex Grimaldo (Bayer Leverkusen)

Notable Inclusions

Lamine Yamal has been included after his breakout season in La Liga and his impressive performances at the Euros this summer. He becomes the youngest ever player to be nominated for the Ballon d’Or, the youngest winner is Ronaldo Nazario, who won it for the first time in 1997, when he was 21 years old.

🚨 Lamine Yamal becomes the youngest player in history to be nominated for the Ballon d’Or pic.twitter.com/nmRZamUvUf

— total Barça (@totalBarca) September 4, 2024

Another notable inclusion is Toni Kroos, who retired from football this summer, after Germany were knocked out of the European Championships by Spain in the quarter finals. He could become the first player to win the Ballon d’Or after they have retired. Zinedine Zidane finished 5th in the 2006 Ballon d’Or, having retired earlier that year.

Notable Exclusions

Other than Messi and Ronaldo, there are some players who have been left out of the Ballon d’Or nominations this year. Yamal’s teammate, Robert Lewandowski has missed out, even though he managed to score 26 times last season. For the Polish striker, this is a surprisingly low amount and because Barcelona didn’t ever challenge for a trophy last season, they have only managed one nominee this year.

🚨🚨| Mohamed Salah didn't make the list of 30 nominees for the 2024 Ballon d'Or. ❌ pic.twitter.com/rJElSrmePU

— CentreGoals. (@centregoals) September 4, 2024

Another surprising exclusion is Mohamed Salah. The Liverpool winger scored 25 goals and registered 14 assists in all competitions but struggled for a trophy last season. Liverpool finished third in the Premier League and didn’t even make it to the final of the UEFA Europa League. They did win the EFL Cup, but Salah missed both legs of the semi final and the final. His form dropped off towards the end of the season, so that could be why he missed out.