Ballon D’Or : Lookman Makes List, Messi, Ronaldo Missing

Interestingly, Nigeria forward, Ademola Lookman, was the only African player nominated.

Real Madrid duo Vinicius Jr. and Jude Bellingham also made the list.

However, this year marked a notable departure as neither Cristiano Ronaldo nor Lionel Messi received a nomination.

Below are the players shortlisted for football’s ultimate individual honour:

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

Cole Palmer – Chelsea

Vitinha – PSG

Vinicius Jr – Real Madrid

Martin Odegaard – Arsenal

Dani Olmo – Barcelona

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