No Messi or Ronaldo on shortlist but six Englishmen

Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane lead a list of six England players nominated for the men’s Ballon d’Or while the Lionesses trio Lucy Bronze, Lauren James and Lauren Hemp were shortlisted for the women’s award. But the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi, who lifted the men’s award last year, was left off the list along with his longstanding rival Cristiano Ronaldo for the first time since 2003.
Shortlists for the respective awards were unveiled on Wednesday night by France Football, with the winners to be announced at a ceremony in Paris on 28 October.
Bellingham was nominated for the prize after a superb debut campaign with Real Madrid was followed by him helping England to reach the Euro 2024 final. The 21-year-old is joined on a 30-player list by his compatriots Declan Rice, Cole Palmer, Phil Foden, Bukayo Saka and Kane, who scored 44 goals in his debut season with Bayern Munich.
Real Madrid’s Vinícius Júnior and the Manchester City midfielder Rodri are the early favourites to win the award. Spain, the Euro 2024 winners, make up a large chunk of those nominated, with Rodri joined by the teenage star Lamine Yamal, Athletic Bilbao’s Nico Williams, the Real Madrid captain Dani Carvajal, the new Barcelona signing Dani Olmo and the Bayer Leverkusen left-back Alejandro Grimaldo.
Kylian Mbappé is also listed, while there is plenty of Premier League interest with the Arsenal duo William Saliba and Martin Ødegaard joined by the Manchester City rivals Rúben Dias and Erling Haaland.
The Aston Villa and Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez again makes the shortlist, while the London-born Ademola Lookman was also nominated after he inspired Atalanta to Europa League glory in May.
A first-time winner is guaranteed as there was no place for either Messi or Ronaldo, while Karim Benzema and Luka Modric – the only other previous recipients still playing – were also left off the shortlist.
The Lionesses trio Bronze, James and Hemp were shortlisted for the women’s award after fine seasons with Barcelona, Chelsea and Manchester City respectively. The Manchester City forward Khadija Shaw was also on the 30-player list after a stellar campaign along with her teammate Yui Hasegawa. The Arsenal summer signing Mariona Caldentey and the Chelsea pair Sjoeke Nüsken and Mayra Ramírez were also nominated.
The Barcelona midfielder Aitana Bonmatí will be up for the prize after she won the award last year, as will her club colleague, the two-time winner Alexia Putellas, while Ada Hegerberg, who received the trophy in 2018, also made the shortlist.
The new USA women’s team manager, Emma Hayes, faces competition for the women’s coach of the year award from England’s Sarina Wiegman and Hayes’s Chelsea successor Sonia Bompastor.
The Manchester United duo Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho were nominated for the Kopa Trophy, which is awarded to the best men’s young player of the year. Bellingham won the accolade in 2023, but Mainoo faces competition from Spain’s Euro 2024 winner Yamal and Savinho, who joined Manchester City this summer.
Martínez was again shortlisted for the Yacine Trophy, which he won last year, after he followed up a fine club season with a successful Copa América defence.
The soon-to-be Liverpool goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili, currently of Valencia, is also nominated, but the Premier League golden glove winner David Raya was snubbed.
Pep Guardiola was put forward for men’s coach of the year after another Premier League title with Manchester City and a maiden Club World Cup triumph. Guardiola was joined on the list by the Spain manager Luis De la Fuente, Xabi Alonso of Bayer Leverkusen and Real Madrid’s Carlo Ancelotti.