Srinagar: For the first time since 2003, neither Cristiano Ronaldo nor Lionel Messi have been included among the nominees for the men’s Ballon d’Or award, marking an end to a phenomenal era of Football.
The Ballon d’Or is an annual football award presented by French magazine France Football since 1956 to honour the player deemed to have performed the best over the season.
Portugal superstar Ronaldo has won the award five times, while his rival Messi won his eighth in 2023.
Spain, who were crowned the Euro 2024 champions have six players nominated, including the 17-year-old winger Lamine Yamal along with Nico Williams, Alejandro Grimaldo, Dani Olmo, Rodri and Dani Carvajal, who also won the Champions League with Real Madrid.
England’s Jude Bellingham is also among the 30 footballers named.
From the Spanish football giants, Real Madrid, a total of seven players have been nominated, including, Kylian Mbappe who recently signed from Paris St Germain, with Bellingham and Brazil’s Vinicius Junior, Al Jazeera reported.
England, runners-up to Spain at Euro 2024, have five other nominees apart from Bellingham: Harry Kane, Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice, Cole Palmer and Phil Foden.
While the prestigious award has been dominated by Spanish league players, no Spaniard has won the prize for best player in the world since Barcelona great Luis Suarez in 1960, despite Spain’s “golden generation” that won the 2010 World Cup, as well as the 2008 and 2012 Euros.
Not only did Spain play a perfect European Championship by winning all seven games in Germany, but they also scored 15 goals, the most by any team in a Euros.
The 2024 Ballon d’Or awards ceremony, to crown the world’s best player, will take place on October 28 in Paris.
