The nominees for the Ballon d’Or 2024: Who deserves it? Who was unlucky and isn’t there?

There is no “I” in “team”, but there is in “best player in the world”, and that is exactly what the Ballon d’Or is for.

Crowning the best footballer in the world over the past year may seem like a pointless exercise given the multitude of nuances, but that is exactly what France Football magazine has been doing since 1956 and on Wednesday evening the nominees for the 2024 men’s award were announced.

The big names were all there (or so you might think, given the 30 players on the shortlist) and will be voted on by a group of pesky journalists before the winner is announced on October 28th.

So now that we know the identities of the players who can be called the sport’s leading stars – and for the first time since 2003, it will not be Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo – we can discuss who was lucky to be there, who was unlucky not to be there, and who is considered a sure winner.

Here four authors from The athlete criticize the nominations for this year’s Ballon d’Or.

Who was the most surprising new addition?

Ademola Lookman had a night to remember when he scored a hat-trick in the Europa League final in May. He also helped Nigeria to the Africa Cup of Nations final this season, scoring three goals.

Lookman hasn’t wowed the world all season, however, playing just 55 percent of Atalanta’s league minutes as he’s been a constant in and out of Gian Piero Gasperini’s side. He’s certainly had a strong season, but perhaps it’s a surprise to see him among the top 30 players of the year.

Mark Carey

Vitinha. Undoubtedly a really good player, but what have I missed? Compared to the other midfielders on the shortlist and their performances, it’s difficult to make an argument for him – especially after Portugal’s disappointing Euro 2024 campaign.

Dani Olmo is also lucky. He deserves to be considered among the best players in the world and was exceptional in Germany over the summer, but he rarely showed that form in the Bundesliga or Champions League in 2023/24. In fact, he only started 19 games in total in those competitions.

Seb Stafford-Bloor

Dani Olmo moved from RB Leipzig to Barcelona this summer (Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

Dani Olmo had a good Euro and while that’s important, the award is meant to reflect the whole of last season. In this case, someone like Riccardo Calafiori would have deserved it more as he excelled for Bologna. As a Wolves fan, I’m still amazed at how high Vitinha has risen. Also, the award is meant to reflect good behaviour and fair play, so Emi Martinez should consider herself lucky (no kidding, Aston Villa fans, I’m only kidding).

Tim Spiers

GO DEEPER

Vitinha and his strange development from Wolves substitute to Portuguese midfield maestro

Honestly, Emiliano Martinez. I think his year was 2022 with the World Cup, but I don’t think his season is worth a nomination for the Ballon d’Or. He won the Copa America and I see some legitimacy in that, but Aston Villa “only” qualified for the Champions League despite a good season. I understand what that means for the club, but I don’t know if he deserves a nomination.

Laia Cervello Herrero

Which player was most unhappy not to be there?

If we’re judging solely by his attacking numbers, Serhou Guirassy might be disappointed not to have made the list. With 28 goals (plus three assists), only six players in Europe’s top five leagues were involved in more goals than Guirassy last season – and five of them made the list (poor Ollie Watkins).

Guirassy’s rate of 1.1 goals per 90 minutes last season was unmatched by any other player in Europe, earning him a move to Borussia Dortmund but unfortunately not enough to secure him a place on this shortlist.

Mark Carey

Jamal Musiala was probably the most talented player not included in the list, but what about Bayer Leverkusen goalkeeper and captain Lukas Hradecky? Leverkusen is well represented by Florian Wirtz, Alex Grimaldo and Granit Xhaka and all three deserve their place, but Hradecky has been fundamental to Xabi Alonso’s side’s performances, reaching an extremely high level that many would not have previously believed he was capable of.

After all, he was just one game away from leading a team to an undefeated domestic and continental treble.

Seb Stafford-Bloor

If we look at the form of the whole year, it makes little sense that Mats Hummels is there and Virgil van Dijk is not. Jamal Musiala was certainly a top 30 player last season. And Julian Alvarez also deserves praise, having scored 19 goals and provided 13 assists for his club, as well as winning the Premier League and the Copa America.

What is particularly disappointing is that – especially in an AFCON year – there is only one African player on the list and even the inclusion of Ademola Lookman may have more to do with Atalanta than Nigeria.

If William Troost-Ekong had been named the best player at the Euros rather than the Africa Cup of Nations, he would have been included, as would James Rodriguez at the Copa America, but this award remains a Eurocentric one, reserved almost exclusively for players from the continent. It is very strange that Lionel Messi is not included.

Tim Spiers

Call me old-fashioned or romantic, but Leo Messi. Yes, I know he doesn’t play in one of the big leagues, but I find it strange to win an award that he would have deserved every year before without seeing it, after… 18 years? I know he was injured for months and it wasn’t his best season, but he also won the Copa America with Argentina, like Martinez.

Laia Cervello Herrero

Lionel Messi has won eight Ballons d’Or – a ninth will not follow this year (Buda Mendes/Getty Images)

Who will finish in the top three?

Rodri, Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Junior – in that order.

Mark Carey

Vinicius Jr., Rodri, Erling Haaland.

Seb Stafford-Bloor

Vinicius Junior has not yet made it into the top three in the Ballon d’Or voting… yet (Thomas Coex/AFP via Getty Images)

It’s hard to imagine Rodri or Vinicius Jr. not being at the top. As for the third player, based on previous voting habits, it will probably be between Dani Carvajal, Erling Haaland, Harry Kane, Lamine Yamal, Jude Bellingham, Kylian Mbappe and perhaps Lautaro Martinez. Let’s say Carvajal.

Tim Spiers

I could undoubtedly imagine Rodri and Vinicius Jr. in the top three, and the third is probably Kylian Mbappe.

And I know that many will disagree and say that this is very hasty because he has not played a full season at Barcelona, ​​but Lamine Yamal, despite his youth and the fact that it is his first full season in the elite, also deserves a place because at 17 he played an important role in the Spanish European champions of 2024 and at a club as big as Barca. His level was exceptional. Maybe I am saying this too early, but I will just drop this suggestion here and go.

Laia Cervello Herrero

Who do you think will win – and who should win?

All roads lead to Rodri. He has been his club’s and country’s most consistent, dominant and influential player over the last 12 months. He has left his mark on everything his team does well – with and without the ball – and his performances are a success in the Premier League and at the European Championships.

It’s time for more midfielders to win this individual trophy. No one deserves it more.

Mark Carey

Manchester City’s Rodri – a popular choice (Michael Regan/Getty Images)

Vinicius Jr. will probably win, but Rodri probably should. It still feels like attacking players are over-privileged, as is success and performance in the Champions League. It’s quite interesting that despite everything Manchester City have achieved in his time at the club, Rodri has never even finished in the top three. This is understandable on one hand because it can be difficult to accurately assess his contribution, but it is also clearly an oversight.

Seb Stafford-Bloor

GO DEEPER

Why Rodri winning the Ballon d’Or would be both good and bad news for Manchester City

Rodri.

Tim Spires (that’s just my name, I don’t think I should win)

Rodri. Although there are players like Dani Carvajal who have won all the major trophies like the Champions League, La Liga and the European Championship, I think that Rodri – even though he hasn’t won the Champions League – deserves it for what he brings to Manchester City, one of the best teams in Europe.

His position is undervalued in the individual awards, but I think he should be the one to win and I think he will.

Laia Cervello Herrero

The Ballon d’Or shortlist: Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Phil Foden (Man City), Ruben Dias (Man City), Federico Valverde (Real Madrid), Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa), Erling Haaland (Man City), Nicolas Williams (Athletic Bilbao), Granit Xhaka (Bayer Leverkusen), Artem Dovbyk (Roma), Toni Kroos (Real Madrid), Vinicius Jr (Real Madrid), Martin Odegaard (Arsenal), Dani Olmo (Barcelona), Florian Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen), Mats Hummels (Roma) , Rodri (Man City), Declan Rice (Arsenal), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Cole Palmer (Chelsea), Vitinha (PSG), Dani Carvajal (Real Madrid), William Saliba (Arsenal), Lamine Yamal (Barcelona), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Hakan Calhanoglu (Inter Milan), Antonio Rüdiger (Real Madrid), Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid), Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan), Ademola Lookman (Atalanta), Alex Grimaldo (Bayer Leverkusen)

(Top photos: Getty Images)