Messi not on Ballon d´Or shortlist as Yamal, Rodri and Bellingham included

Eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi has missed out on a nomination for this year’s award, with Lamine Yamal, Rodri and six England internationals making the 30-man shortlist.

Messi helped Argentina win a record-breaking 16th Copa America title this year, though he only scored once at the tournament and was forced off injured in the final – a 1-0 win over Colombia.

He has also been hamstrung by injuries at club level in 2024, only making 12 appearances in MLS but still scoring 12 goals – a tally only bettered by 12 players in the competition.

His omission – as well as that of Al-Nassr’s Cristiano Ronaldo – means it is the first time since 2003 that neither of the two great rivals have been in the running for the award, which was won by one of them in every year between 2008 and 2018.

They’re all here!

But… who should win it? #ballondor pic.twitter.com/SrkHBrJtuI

— Ballon d’Or (@ballondor) September 4, 2024

Messi’s Argentina team-mates Emiliano Martinez and Lautaro Martinez are nominated, but the shortlist is dominated by those who impressed at Euro 2024.

Spain and England have six nominees apiece after reaching the final of that tournament, which La Roja won for a record-breaking fourth time with a 2-1 triumph in Berlin.

Seventeen-year-old Yamal is among the nominees after enjoying a breakout tournament in Germany, scoring once and laying on four assists.

That latter figure is the most at any edition of the Euros since Opta records began in 1980, while he also created the most chances (19) of any player at the tournament.

4 – Players with the most assists in the first 4 games of a LaLiga season in the 21st century:

2004 – Joaquín 4
2011 – Lionel Messi 5 / Cesc Fàbregas 4
2013 – Cesc Fàbregas 4
2014 – Lionel Messi 4
2021 – Karim Benzema 4
2024 – LAMINE YAMAL 4

Jewel. pic.twitter.com/TJY4BgbeRV

— OptaJose (@OptaJose) September 4, 2024

Nico Williams, Dani Olmo, Dani Carvajal and Alejandro Grimaldo have also been shortlisted, as has Manchester City midfielder Rodri, who is considered among the leading contenders.

Rodri did not taste defeat in any of his 34 Premier League games last season (27 wins, seven draws), with City losing three of the four games he missed (one win).

Jude Bellingham is deemed one of those most likely to challenge Rodri for the award, and he is joined on the shortlist by England team-mates Harry Kane, Cole Palmer, Phil Foden, Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka.

Fellow Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior is also included after scoring 24 goals and laying on nine assists in Los Blancos’ double-winning campaign, as is Kylian Mbappe, who scored 44 times in his final season with Paris Saint-Germain before heading to the Spanish capital.