Lionel Messi has been excluded from the Ballon D’Or nominations this season. This was the first time in 17 years that the Argentine has not featured in the top 30 list.
Messi moved to Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer last season. This was after Barcelona’s financial situation meant that he could not be registered. The move to Paris led to the formation of the “MNM” trio of Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe.
However, it did not go exactly to plan. Messi struggled in parts in the French league. Although he got 15 assists, he could muster up only 6 goals. France Football admitted that the poor showing meant that the mercurial Argentine had to miss the Ballon D’Or shortlist.
On the other hand, Cristiano Ronaldo was featured in the Ballon D’Or nominee list. Following his return to Manchester United, things have not been smooth at Old Trafford. The Red Devils barely finished sixth, and have started the new campaign with two disastrous results. However, the Portuguese scored 18 goals the last season which was the third highest in the league. His individual season got him the nod ahead of Messi among the Ballon D’Or nominees
Full List of Ballon D’Or Nominees, 2021/22
- Raphael Leao (AC Milan, Portugal)
- Fabinho (Liverpool, Brazil)
- Casemiro (Real Madrid, Brazil)
- Luka Modrić (Real Madrid, Croatia)
- Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United, Portugal)
- Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur, England)
- Sadio Mané (Bayern Munich/Liverpool, Senegal)
- Mohammed Salah (Liverpool, Egypt)
- Heung-Min Son (Tottenham Hotspur, South Korea)
- Karim Benzema (Real Madrid, France)
- Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City, Belgium)
- Sebastian Haller (Borussia Dortmund/Ajax, Ivory Coast)
- Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City, Algeria)
- Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona/Bayern Munich, Poland)
- Luis Diaz (Liverpool/Porto, Columbia)
- Vinicius Jr (Real Madrid, Brazil)
- Bernardo Silva (Manchester City, Portugal)
- Trent Alexander Arnold (Liverpool, England)
- Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid, Belgium)
- Cristopher Nkunku (RB Leipzig, France)
- Phil Foden (Manchester City, England)
- Darwin Nunez (Liverpool/Benfica, Uruguay)
- Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich, Germany)
- Mike Maignan (AC Milan, France)
- Antonio Rudiger (Real Madrid/Chelsea, Germany)
- Dusan Vlahović (Juventus/Fiorentina, Serbia)
- Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool, Netherlands)
- Joao Cancelo (Manchester City, Portugal)
- Erling Haaland (Manchester City/Borussia Dortmund, Norway)
- Kylian Mbappé (PSG, France)
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