Five of the best soccer players in the world were not included on the Ballon d'Or shortlist.
With just over a month until the 2024 Ballon d'Or ceremony, the full list of nominees revealed the 30 men and 30 women being honored as the sport's top players. Whether they contributed to a title-winning run for their club or country, or simply had an outstanding individual year, the superstars earned one of the highest achievements in soccer just by making the shortlist.
Many of the nominees were all-but guarantees to appear on the list, including Real Madrid's Vinicius Júnior and Jude Bellingham, as well as Manchester City's Rodri and Erling Haaland. Several notable players, though, did not receive a spot among their peers.
Here's the most surprising omissions from the recent 2024 nominations.
Biggest Snubs from the Ballon d'Or 2024 Nominees
5. Lionel Messi (Argentina, Inter Miami)
For the first time since 2003, both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi were not nominated for the Ballon d'Or. Messi, in particular, has a strong argument to be included on the shortlist after leading Argentina to another Copa América title.
Unlike his contributions at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, though, Messi only recorded one goal and one assist in this summer's tournament. Plus he's missed considerable time through injury. Still, his absence from the shortlist is a surprise.
4. Mohamed Salah (Egypt, Liverpool)
Based on statistics alone. Mohamed Salah did enough last year for Liverpool to rank among the 30 best players in the world. The 32-year-old scored 25 goals and tallied 13 assists across all competitions.
Salah had a rather quiet second half to the Premier League season after recovering from a hamstring injury, but he still helped the injury-ridden Liverpool finish third in England's top-flight.
3. Jamal Musiala (Germany, Bayern Munich)
Jamal Musiala solidified himself as one of the best young players in the world at Euro 2024. The 21-year-old scored three goals for Germany in five matches, earning a shared piece of the competition's Golden Boot. He made UEFA's Team of the Tournament as well.
The German also performed well for Bayern Munich last season, recording 12 goals and seven assists across all competitions, and was often his team's best player on the pitch in the Champions League.
2. Naomi Girma (USWNT, San Diego Wave)
Naomi Girma was shockingly left off the 30-women shortlist for the Women's Ballon d'Or award. The center-back was a brick wall for a U.S. women's national team that conceded just two goals in six matches at the Paris Olympics.
Girma played every second of the tournament and came up huge time and time again for the Stars and Stripes in the knockout stage, where they kept three clean sheets. She was one of the United States' best players on its journey to a gold medal.
1. Rodrygo (Brazil, Real Madrid)
Rodrygo's omission from the Ballon d'Or shortlist is the biggest surprise of all. The 23-year-old might have struggled for Brazil at Copa América 2024, but he was instrumental in Real Madrid's La Liga and Champions League titles.
The Brazilian scored five goals in Los Blancos' European campaign alone, including two against the defending champions, Manchester City that would go on to help his side advance to the semifinals. He also recorded 10 La Liga goals and found the back of the net in the Spanish Super Cup final.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Biggest Snubs From the Ballon d'Or 2024 Nominees.
