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LIONEL Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo were both left off the list of nominees for this year’s Ballon d’Or award, marking the first time neither star was nominated since 2003.
Record eight-time winner Messi, and his longtime rival Ronaldo, who has five Ballon d’Ors to his name, did not feature Wednesday in a list of 30 players in the running for this year’s prize, which will be presented Oct. 28.
Vinicius Junior, Rodri, Jude Bellingham, Kylian Mbappé, Erling Haaland and Harry Kane are among the names nominated.
Teammates Vinicius and Bellingham helped Real Madrid win LaLiga and the club’s 16th Champions League title last season, while Haaland led the Premier League in goals scored and Kane did the same for Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga.
Earlier this summer, Mbappé finally sealed his expected move to Madrid after spending six seasons at PSG.
Messi, who is working his way back from injury with club side Inter Miami, won the award last year.
On the women’s side, five U.S. stars made the list of nominees, including captain and midfielder Lindsey Horan, goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher and forwards Trinity Rodman, Sophia Smith and Mallory Swanson, a few weeks after helping the Americans win the 2024 Olympic gold medal in women’s soccer.
Aitana Bonmatí, Mariona Caldentey, Patri Guijarro, Salma Paralluelo and Alexia Putellas are the five Spanish players nominated for the award. Spain finished fourth at the Olympics, one year after winning the World Cup. The award has gone to Spanish players in each of the past three years, twice to Putellas and last year to Bonmatí.
England, beaten by Spain in the 2023 World Cup final, has three nominees — Lauren Hemp, Lauren James and Lucy Bronze. ESPN News Services
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Bongani Ndlovu