Nominees released for 2024 Ballon d’Or awards

September 5 – Marking the end of an era, for the first time since 2003 neither Lionel Messi nor Cristiano Ronaldo have been nominated for the Ballon d’Or, football’s most prestigious awards ceremony voted for by a jury of journalists from each of the top 100 countries in FIFA’s world ranking.

Messi claimed the eighth Ballon d’Or of his glittering career last year but now 37, he is not among the 30 contenders this time despite winning another title with Argentina at the Copa America in July.