No Messi and Ronaldo among Ballon d'Or nominees
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, who have a combined 13 Ballon d'Or awards, did not make the shortlist for this year's awards, which will be held on October 28.
This is happening for the first time since 2003. Messi picked up football's most prestigious individual award for a record eighth time last year, while Ronaldo is a five-time winner. Since 2008, only two people have won the Ballon d'Or outside of the Argentine and the Portuguese - Luka Modric (2018) and Karim Benzema (2022).
Favorites this year are three players – Rodri, and the Real Madrid duo Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Junior.
Manchester City's midfielder Rodri won another English championship with The Citizens, and a little later in the summer he also became European champion with Spain, being selected as the Player of the Tournament.
For their part, Bellingham and Vinicius can boast of a triumph in the Spanish La Liga and winning the Champions League, where in the final Real Madrid dealt with Borussia Dortmund. Bellingham reached the dispute for the Euro 2024 trophy, but there England bowed to the Spaniards. Last year, the talent won the Kopa trophy, which is awarded to the Best player under the age of 21.
There, the favorite to win the award is Lamine Yamal, who played a brilliant European Championship with the Spanish team. Manchester United's Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho are also among the nominees.
In contention for the Lev Yashin Trophy for Best Goalkeeper, Aston Villa's Argentinian keeper Emiliano Martinez will be vying for a second consecutive accolade, which he has won since Argentina's triumph at the 2022 World Cup. This year, Martinez is once again celebrating with the national team, this time at Copa America.
On the women's side, Aitana Bonmati will try to defend her trophy from last year. The Barcelona player is expected to face competition from Lindsey Horan (Lyon) and her Barca team-mate Caroline Graham Hansen.
Ballon d'Or men's nominees:
Jude Bellingham
Ruben Dias
Phil Foden
Federico Valverde
Emiliano Martinez
Erling Holland
Nico Williams
Granit Xhaka
Artyom Dovbik
Toni Kroos
Vinicius Junior
Danny Olmo
Florian Wirtz
Martin Odegaard
Mats Hummels
Rodri
Harry Kane
Declan Rice
Vitinha
Cole Palmer
Dani Carvajal
Lamine Yamal
Bukayo Saka
Hakan Calhanoglu
William Saliba
Kylian Mbappe
Lautaro Martinez
Ademola Lookman
Antonio Rudiger
Alejandro Grimaldo
Nominees for the Kopa Trophy:
Pau Cubarsi
Alejandro Garnacho
Arda Guler
Karim Konate
Kobbie Mainoo
Joao Neves
Savinho
Mathis Tel
Lamine Yamal
Warren Zaire-Emery
The nominees for the "Lev Yashin" trophy:
Diogo Costa
Gianluigi Donnarumma
Gregor Kobel
Andrii Lunin
Mike Menian
Giorgi Mamardashvili
Emiliano Martinez
Unai Simon
Jan Sommer
Ronwen Williams
Women's Ballon d'Or nominees:
Aitana Bonmati
Lauren Hemp
Trinity Rodman
Barbra Banda
Tarsiane
Manuela Giuliano
Mallory Swanson
Glodis Vigosdottir
Mariona Caldentay
Lauren James
Patricia Guijarro
Leah Schuller
Gabby Portillo
Tabitha Chavinga
Carolyn Graham Hansen
Lindsay Horan
Lucy Bronze
Yui Hasegawa
Ada Hegerberg
Schöke Nyusken
Salma Paraluello
Julia Gwynn
Khadija Shaw
Grace Geyoro
Alexia Putelas
Marie-Antoinette Catoto
Mayra Ramirez
Allyssa Naeher
Eva Payor
Sophia Smith. | BGNES
