“End Of An Era”: Cristiano Ronaldo And Messi To Miss Ballon d’Or (image-instagram/leomessi,cristiano)
The era of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi has finally come to a close. The duo for the first time since 2003 had missed out on the Ballon d’Or nomination. When the list of 30 nominees including the names of Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe was announced, surprisingly, the most coveted names in the history of football were left out.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid duo Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham are two of the strongest contenders to win the prestigious award this year.
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Messi after clinching eight awards and Ronaldo- five awards, missing out for the first time in 21 years, fans have reacted emotionally on social media with many of them declaring it to be the “end of an era”.
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Shortlists for the respective awards were unveiled on Wednesday night by France Football and the winner’s name will be announced in Paris on 28 October.
After scoring 54 goals last season, making him the top scorer in world football for 2023, Cristiano Ronaldo was left out of the nominees.
Both the football legends have not yet been commended on making the cut for the 2024 Ballon d’Or award, which is now set to be won by a player for the first time in their career.
Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane lead a list of six England players nominated for the men’s Ballon d’Or. Bellingham was nominated for the prize after a superb debut campaign with Real Madrid followed by him helping England to reach the Euro 2024 final.
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Real Madrid’s Vinícius Júnior and the Manchester City midfielder Rodri are the early favorites to win the award.
French star Kylian Mbappe was also listed for the prestigious award.
However, a first-time winner is guaranteed as there was no place for either Messi or Ronaldo. Karim Benzema and Luka Modric were the only recipients still playing but they were also left off the shortlist.
