2024 Ballon d’Or Nominees Revealed: Messi Snubbed

France Football has announced the nominees for the 2024 Ballon d’Or, revealing a lineup of football’s biggest stars. The list includes well-known names such as Erling Haaland from Manchester City, Vinicius Jr from Real Madrid, Jude Bellingham from Real Madrid, and Kylian Mbappé, who plays for Paris Saint-Germain and has been linked to Real Madrid.

Among the contenders, Vinicius Jr is seen as a strong favorite to win the prestigious award.

Interestingly, Lionel Messi, who currently holds the Ballon d’Or and has won it eight times in the past, did not make the list this year. Messi, now playing for Inter Miami, is notably absent from the nominations.

Here is the full list of the 2024 Ballon d’Or nominees:

1. Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid)
2. Phil Foden (Manchester City)
3. Ruben Dias (Manchester City)
4. Federico Valverde (Real Madrid)
5. Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa)
6. Erling Haaland (Manchester City)
7. Nico Williams (Athletic Bilbao)
8. Granit Xhaka (Bayer Leverkusen)
9. Artem Dovbik (Roma)
10. Toni Kroos (Real Madrid)
11. Vinicius Jr (Real Madrid)
12. Dani Olmo (RB Leipzig/Barcelona)
13. Florian Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen)
14. Martin Odegaard (Arsenal)
15. Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund)
16. Rodri (Manchester City)
17. Harry Kane (Bayern Munich)
18. Declan Rice (Arsenal)
19. Vitinha (PSG)
20. Cole Palmer (Chelsea)
21. Dani Carvajal (Real Madrid)
22. Lamine Yamal (Barcelona)
23. Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)
24. Hakan Calhanoglu (Inter Milan)
25. William Saliba (Arsenal)
26. Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan)
27. Ademola Lookman (Atalanta)
28. Antonio Rudiger (Real Madrid)
29. Kylian Mbappé (PSG/Real Madrid)
30. Alejandro Grimaldo (Bayer Leverkusen)