Ronaldo misses cut for Ballon d'or for 1st time in 20 years

Paris, September 7

Seven-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi is back in contention for the prestigious award a year after being omitted from the nomination list, which this time doesn’t include long-time rival Cristiano Ronaldo.

Messi, the Inter Miami star who led Argentina to the World Cup title in December, was named on Wednesday to the 30-man list of nominees along with Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe.

Ronaldo, a five-time winner who now plays for Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia, missed the cut for the first time since 2003.

The winner will be announced on October 30.

France Football magazine has given out the award to men every year since 1956 and to women each year since 2018 — when Ada Hegerberg became the first female winner — though both were cancelled in 2020 because of the pandemic.

Aitana Bonmati, who last week was named the UEFA Women’s Player of the Year, is one of six female nominees from Spain. Bonmati led Spain to the Women’s World Cup title last month.

“Grateful & proud to be nominated alongside great players,” Bonmati said on social media. Two-time winner Alexia Putellas didn’t make the women’s list after missing time with an ACL injury. Haaland, who scored 52 goals for the treble-winning Manchester City last season, is one of the seven City players on the men’s list. Fifteen players are nominated for the first time. — AP