If there were any lingering doubts, a changing of the guard is truly taking place in men’s soccer.

Lionel Messi, the Ballon d’Or holder and record eight-time recipient of the sport’s most prestigious individual award, was not among the 30 nominees announced Wednesday for the 2024 honor. With Cristiano Ronaldo also omitted – as he was last year – this marks the first time since 2003 that neither global megastar has been in contention for the coveted trophy.

Instead, the men’s list of finalists is unsurprisingly dominated by Real Madrid players, including the likes of Vinicius Junior, Jude Bellingham, and new signing Kylian Mbappe. Spain and England are also well-represented after reaching the Euro 2024 final – which Spain won – with midfield maestro Rodri a strong contender for the award.

The winner will be announced during a ceremony on Oct. 28 at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris.

2024 Men’s Ballon d’Or nominees

Player Club Country
Jude Bellingham Real Madrid England
Phil Foden Manchester City England
Federico Valverde Real Madrid Uruguay
Emiliano Martinez Aston Villa Argentina
Ruben Dias Manchester City Portugal
Erling Haaland Manchester City Norway
Nico Williams Athletic Bilbao Spain
Granit Xhaka Bayer Leverkusen Switzerland
Artem Dovbyk Roma/Girona Ukraine
Toni Kroos Real Madrid (retired) Germany (retired)
Vinicius Junior Real Madrid Brazil
Dani Olmo Barcelona/RB Leipzig Spain
Florian Wirtz Bayer Leverkusen Germany
Martin Odegaard Arsenal Norway
Mats Hummels Roma/Borussia Dortmund Germany
Rodri Manchester City Spain
Harry Kane Bayern Munich England
Declan Rice Arsenal England
Vitinha PSG Portugal
Cole Palmer Chelsea England
Dani Carvajal Real Madrid Spain
Lamine Yamal Barcelona Spain
Bukayo Saka Arsenal England
Hakan Calhanoglu Inter Milan Turkey
William Saliba Arsenal France
Kylian Mbappe Real Madrid/PSG France
Lautaro Martinez Inter Milan Argentina
Ademola Lookman Atalanta Nigeria
Antonio Rudiger Real Madrid Germany
Alejandro Grimaldo Bayer Leverkusen Spain

2024 Women’s Ballon d’Or nominees

Aitana Bonmati, last year’s winner, headlines the list of nominees for the Ballon d’Or Feminin, which was first handed out in 2018. The Spanish superstar will face tough competition from a handful of Americans after the United States captured the biggest prize in women’s soccer this year by winning gold at the Paris Olympics. Standout forwards Trinity Rodman, Mallory Swanson, and Sophia Smith are all in the running.

Player Club Country
Aitana Bonmati Barcelona Spain
Barbra Banda Orlando Pride/Shanghai RCB Zambia
Tarciane Houston Dash/Corinthians Brazil
Lauren Hemp Manchester City England
Trinity Rodman Washington Spirit United States
Ada Hegerberg Lyon Norway
Manuela Giugliano Roma Italy
Mallory Swanson Chicago Red Stars United States
Glodis Viggosdottir Bayern Munich Iceland
Mariona Caldentey Arsenal/Barcelona Spain
Lauren James Chelsea England
Lea Schuller Bayern Munich Germany
Patricia Guijarro Barcelona Spain
Gabi Portilho Corinthians Brazil
Tabitha Chawinga Lyon/PSG Malawi
Caroline Graham Hansen Barcelona Norway
Lindsey Horan Lyon United States
Sjoeke Nusken Chelsea Germany
Yui Hasegawa Manchester City Japan
Lucy Bronze Chelsea/Barcelona England
Salma Paralluelo Barcelona Spain
Giulia Gwinn Bayern Munich Germany
Khadija Shaw Manchester City Jamaica
Grace Geyoro PSG France
Alexia Putellas Barcelona Spain
Sophia Smith Portland Thorns United States
Ewa Pajor Barcelona/Wolfsburg Poland
Alyssa Naeher Chicago Red Stars United States
Mayra Ramirez Chelsea/Levante Colombia
Marie-Antoinette Katoto PSG France

Kopa Trophy nominees

Awarded to the game’s best player under 21 years of age, the Kopa Trophy could once again go to a Spanish-based youngster after Bellingham, Gavi, and Pedri took home the last three editions. Barcelona sensation Lamine Yamal is the front-runner after backing up his breakout season at club level by playing a critical role in Spain’s Euro 2024 triumph. Victory for the 17-year-old would signal the third time a Barcelona player has taken home the honor since this piece of hardware was introduced in 2018.

Player Club Country
Pau Cubarsi Barcelona Spain
Alejandro Garnacho Manchester United Argentina
Arda Guler Real Madrid Turkey
Karim Konate Red Bull Salzburg Ivory Coast
Kobbie Mainoo Manchester United England
Joao Neves PSG/Benfica Portugal
Savinho Manchester City/Girona Brazil
Mathys Tel Bayern Munich France
Lamine Yamal Barcelona Spain
Warren Zaire-Emery PSG France

Yachine Trophy nominees

Named after the iconic Lev Yashin – the only goalkeeper to ever win the Ballon d’Or when he accomplished the feat in 1963 – the Yachine Trophy goes to the game’s top shot-stopper. Current holder Emiliano Martinez will be a strong contender once again after backstopping Argentina to victory at the Copa America this summer.

Player Club Country
Diogo Costa FC Porto Portugal
Gianluigi Donnarumma PSG Italy
Gregor Kobel Borussia Dortmund Switzerland
Andriy Lunin Real Madrid Ukraine
Mike Maignan AC Milan France
Giorgi Mamardashvili Valencia Georgia
Emiliano Martinez Aston Villa Argentina
Unai Simon Athletic Bilbao Spain
Yann Sommer Inter Milan Switzerland
Ronwen Williams Mamelodi Sundowns South Africa

Best coach

Nominees were also announced Wednesday for the top coaches in the game. A collection of decorated tacticians highlight the list on both the men’s and women’s sides. It will be interesting to see how the voters weigh club accomplishments compared to success at the international level after a year in which the latter was so prominent.

Men’s team coach of the year

Coach Team
Carlo Ancelotti Real Madrid
Xabi Alonso Bayer Leverkusen
Luis de la Fuente Spain
Gian Piero Gasperini Atalanta
Pep Guardiola Manchester City
Lionel Scaloni Argentina

Women’s team coach of the year

Coach Team
Sonia Bompastor Chelsea/Lyon
Arthur Elias Brazil/Corinthians
Jonatan Giraldez Washington Spirit/Barcelona
Filipa Patao Benfica
Sarina Wiegman England
Emma Hayes United States/Chelsea

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here