For the sports journal “L’Equipe” it’s “like a summer without the Tour de France”: For the first time since 2005, football superstar Lionel Messi is not on the list of 30 nominated players for the prestigious Ballon d’Or. On the other hand, his long-time rival Cristiano Ronaldo belongs to the elite circle, as does world footballer Robert Lewandowski. Frenchman Karim Benzema, who won the Champions League with Real Madrid, is the favorite for the election.
The striker also became the top scorer in the premier class with 15 goals. With ten goals in the knockout phase, he set a corresponding record of former Real star Cristiano Ronaldo. Also on the list are Norwegian Erling Haaland, who switched to Manchester City from Borussia Dortmund in the summer, and Liverpool star Mohamed Salah. In addition to Messi, another prominent name is missing with PSG team-mate Neymar.
In 2021, Messi won the election ahead of Lewandowski, which caused a lot of criticism. There will be a change in the future. Instead of evaluating the performance of footballers per calendar year, as has been the case up to now, seasonal performance will be taken into account in future.
Arsenal striker Beth Mead is one of the women’s nominees. She won the European Championship with England in July and was voted player of the tournament.
The upcoming Ballon d’Or ceremony on October 17th will be awarded for the 2021/22 season. In future, only representatives of the top 100 in the FIFA ranking list will be entitled to vote. In addition, the overall career should no longer be a criterion.
Source: Nachrichten
