Portuguese football icon, Cristiano Ronaldo, who plays for Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr has not been nominated for the Ballon d’Or.
The Ballon d’Or is an annual football award presented by French news magazine France Football and was introduced in 1956. The nominees for the awards were revealed on Wednesday.
Ronaldo, a five-time winner of the Ballon d’Or award, missed the nomination for the first time in 20 years.
Ballon d’Or nominees
Lionel Messi, the Argentine forward and seven-time Ballon d’Or winner, was nominated, despite his recent move to the MLS franchise, Inter Miami. Messi’s leadership led Argentina to a historic World Cup victory in Qatar, their first since 1986.
Norway’s Erling Haaland and fellow teammates, Ruben Dias, Kevin de Bruyne, and Bernardo Silva, have also been nominated.
Other nominees include Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappe, Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah, Aston Villa’s Emi Martinez, and Arsenal’s Martin Odegaard.
A total of 15 players received their first-ever Ballon d’Or nomination as well.
In the women’s category, Spain’s Aitana Bonmati, recently named UEFA Women’s Player of the Year, leads the nominees, with notable omissions including Barcelona’s Alexia Putellas.
The awards ceremony for both men’s and women’s categories will take place in Paris on October 30.
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