Cristiano Ronaldo makes the Ballon d’Or shortlist, while Lionel Messi loses the award for the first time since 2005

France Football revealed the Ballon d’Or voting list on Friday, August 12, which will determine the finest European footballer from the season prior on October 17, a month well before FIFA World Cup. Lionel Messi has left off a 30-man list of the world’s best players for the first time since 2005, following a disappointing debut season at Paris Saint-Germain.

Messi, the world’s highest-paid footballer, was forced to quit FC Barcelona after the 2020/21 season due to financial troubles and found a new home at PSG, where he was part of one of the star-studded attacking trios of all time. Messi, on the other hand, failed to adjust and suffered his worst season since bursting into the spotlight.

Despite scoring the most Premier League goals for Manchester United the previous season, Messi’s main rival, Cristiano Ronaldo, remained in the top 30.

The Lionel Messi-Cristiano Ronaldo era is set to end, with Kari Benzema and Thibaut Courtois favourites to win the title after a fantastic season in which they won LaLiga, the Champions League, and the UEFA Super Cup.

If Cristiano Ronaldo does not win the Ballon d’Or this season, it will be only the second time since 2008 that neither Lionel Messi nor Cristiano Ronaldo has won the award.

Men’s Shortlist

Thibaut Courtois, Rafael Leao, Christopher Nkunku, Karim Benzema, Luis Diaz, Mohamed Salah, Joshua Kimmich, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Robert Lewandowski, Riyad Mahrez, Vinicius Junior, Bernardo Silva, Harry Kane, Darwin Nunez,  Casemiro, Fabinho, Mike Maignan, Phil Foden, Dusan Vlahovic, Sadio Mane, Sebastien Haller, Luka Modric, Joao Cancelo, Antonio Rudiger, Heung-Min Son, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kevin De Bruyne, Virgil van Dijk, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland.