Ronaldo and Messi out of Ballon d’or for the first time in decades

One year after Lionel Messi took home his eighth Ballon d’Or trophy, the Argentine international failed to make the list of nominees for the award in 2024

The official list of nominees for the 2024 Ballon d’Or was revealed on Wednesday, with some of the biggest stars in the sport in contention for the coveted trophy. There were a few notable omissions from the nominees, however, in the form of Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Neither of the superstars was nominated for the Ballon d’Or this year, marking the first time since 2003 that both Messi and Ronaldo were excluded from the list. To put that into perspective, at least one of Messi or Ronaldo has been nominated for the Ballon d’Or every year since LeBron James was an NBA rookie.

Ronaldo has won the prestigious award five times in his career, while Messi has taken home the Ballon d’Or eight times.