10 most unlikely Ballon d’Or nominations of all time after 2025 nominee leaked
If someone had said in August last year that Scott McTominay, the man who was often on the periphery at Manchester United, would be nominated for the 2025 Ballon d'Or, then you'd have likely shaken your head in disbelief.
McTominay, who joined Napoli from United last summer after falling down the pecking order at Old Trafford, is said to be on the shortlist for the individual prize after a phenomenal debut campaign that featured 13 goals and six assists.
The 28-year-old midfielder has surpassed all expectations. In fact, on a recent trip to Prague, I came across a small Italian cafe with pictures of McTominay's face plastered across its walls – a sign of how far his influence has travelled since arriving in Naples.
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Despite making such an impact of late, the Scotland international's nomination may come as a surprise to some, and it got us thinking. Who are the most unlikely Ballon d'Or nominees of all time? And how did they make the shortlist?
Frederic Kanoute
He didn't exactly set the Premier League alight, but former West Ham and Spurs striker Frederic Kanoute was nominated for the Ballon d'Or in 2007 following a superb campaign for Sevilla that featured 21 league goals.
Having outscored the likes of David Villa and Fernando Torres, he was named African Footballer of the Year and finished 11th in the Ballon d'Or standings.
Cris
The former Lyon centre-back, who made 17 appearances for the Brazil national team, was nominated for the Ballon d'Or on two separate occasions in 2005 and 2006, although he failed to receive a single vote.
Jens Lehmann
Lev Yashin remains the only goalkeeper in history to win the Ballon d'Or, and shot-stoppers are often hard done by when it comes to the vote, but Jens Lehmann cracked the top 10 after an impressive campaign with Arsenal in 2005/06.
In fact, Lehmann set a Champions League record for the longest time without conceding a goal [853 minutes] during Arsenal's run to the 2006 final.
Asamoah Gyan
Gyan was nominated for the Ballon d'Or in 2010 following his performance at the World Cup in South Africa, where he helped Ghana reach the quarter-finals.
He would soon sign for Sunderland from Rennes in a club record deal worth £13 million, but the striker failed to live up to expectations.
Younis Mahmoud
Mahmoud remains the only Iraqi player to ever make the Ballon d'Or shortlist. It came after the forward led his country to their first-ever Asian Cup in 2007 after scoring the winning goal in the final. He finished 29th in the standings.
Emmanuel Adebayor
Adebayor finished 11th in the Ballon d'Or standings in 2008 after scoring 30 goals in all competitions for Arsenal during the 2007/08 campaign. He was also crowned the 2008 Africa Player of the Year.
Yuri Zhirkov
After playing a crucial role for Russia on their way to the European Championship semi-finals, then-CSKA Moscow player Zhirkov was nominated for the 2008 Ballon d'Or but failed to receive a vote alongside Karim Benzema, Pepe, Luca Toni, and Rafael van der Vaart.
Milan Baros
Baros received more votes than Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Samuel Eto’o in the 2004 Ballon d'Or standings as he finished in 12th place, level with then-Manchester United winger Cristiano Ronaldo.
It came after the former Aston Villa and Liverpool striker won the Golden Boot award at the 2004 Euros.
El Hadji Diouf
Another former Liverpool player, the controversial Diouf was nominated for the Ballon d'Or in 2002 after a stellar World Cup campaign with Senegal.
Rui Patricio
Following Portugal's success at Euro 2016, Rui Patricio was recognised for his performances in between the sticks as he finished in 12th place – a very respectable position given how poorly goalkeepers often finish in the Ballon d'Or standings.
Topics: Ballon d'Or, Scott Mctominay, FIFA
Jack Kenmare