2024 Ballon d'Or nominees confirmed as three world-class players surprisingly left out
The 2024 Ballon d'Or nominees have been officially confirmed, with several world-class players failing to make the cut.
Lionel Messi won the France Football award for the eighth time last year following on from his heroics in guiding Argentina to a third World Cup win in Qatar.
For the second time in history, the award was based around the season between August and July - instead of the calendar year - allowing Messi to triumph with 462 points.
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But although he won the Copa America with Argentina in the summer, Inter Miami star Messi has not been nominated for the 2024 award.
His great rival Cristiano Ronaldo has also been left out, despite scoring 44 goals in all competitions for Al Nassr last season.
It is the first time since 2003 that neither Ronaldo nor Messi have been nominated for the award.
Manchester City talisman Kevin De Bruyne is also a major omission, having helped Pep Guardiola's side win an unprecedented fourth consecutive Premier League title last season.
Other players who failed to make the cut include Bayern Munich's Jamal Musiala and Liverpool duo Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk.
Real Madrid pair Vinicius Jr and Jude Bellingham have both been included and are among the favourites to win after playing an integral role in the club's La Liga and Champions League double last term.
Vinicius has odds of 8/13, with Sky Bet, with Bellingham 8/1 to become the first Englishman since Michael Owen to win the Ballon d'Or.
Manchester City and Spain midfielder Rodri is a leading contender after a stellar year where he helped his club win an unprecedented four Premier League titles in a row.
Rodri followed that up by leading Spain to a Euro 2024 triumph in Germany.
His City teammates Phil Foden and Erling Haaland are outside shouts at 40/1 and 50/1 respectively, though they are behind Kylian Mbappe (33/1) and Harry Kane (33/1).
One hundred journalists from all around the world are responsible for the votes, taking into account "individual performance, decisiveness and impressiveness", "collective performance and track record" and "class and fair play".
The winner will be announced on 28 October at a special ceremony at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris.
Men's Ballon d'Or award shortlist in full
Antonio Rudiger - Real Madrid
Kylian Mbappe - Real Madrid
Lautaro Martinez - Inter
Ademola Lookman - Atalanta
Alejandro Grimaldo - Bayer Leverkusen
Dani Carvajal - Real Madrid
William Saliba - Arsenal
Lamine Yamal - Barcelona
Bukayo Saka - Arsenal
Hakan Calhanoglu - Inter
Rodri - Man City
Declan Rice - Arsenal
Harry Kane - Bayern Munich
Cole Palmer - Chelsea
Vitinha - PSG
Vinicius Jr - Real Madrid
Martin Odegaard - Arsenal
Dani Olmo - Barcelona
Florian Wirtz - Bayer Leverkusen
Mats Hummels - Roma
Erling Haaland - Man City
Nicolas Williams - Athletic Bilbao
Granit Xhaka - Bayer Leverkusen
Artem Dovbik - Roma
Toni Kroos - Real Madrid
Jude Bellingham - Real Madrid
Phil Foden - Man City
Ruben Dias - Man City
Federico Valverde - Real Madrid
Emiliano Martinez - Aston VIlla
Topics: Ballon d'Or, Erling Haaland, Jude Bellingham, Kylian Mbappe, Rodri, Vinicius Jr, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kevin De Bruyne, Mohamed Salah
Josh Lawless