England Players Nominated for Ballon d'Or

Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane lead a list of six England players nominated for the men’s Ballon d’Or while the Lionesses trio Lucy Bronze, Lauren James and Lauren Hemp were shortlisted for the women’s award.

But the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi, who lifted the men’s award last year, was left off the list along with his long standing rival Cristiano Ronaldo for the first time since 2003.

Shortlists for the respective awards were unveiled by France Football, with the winners to be announced at a ceremony in Paris on 28 October.

Bellingham was nominated for the prize after a superb debut campaign with Real Madrid was followed by him helping England to reach the Euro 2024 final. The 21-year-old is joined on a 30-player list by his compatriots Declan Rice, Cole Palmer, Phil Foden, Bukayo Saka and Kane, who scored 44 goals in his debut season with Bayern Munich.

Real Madrid’s Vinícius Júnior and the Manchester City midfielder Rodri are the early favorites to win the award. Spain, the Euro 2024 winners, make up a large chunk of those nominated, with Rodri joined by the teenage star Lamine Yamal, Athletic Bilbao’s Nico Williams, the Real Madrid captain Dani Carvajal, the new Barcelona signing Dani Olmo and the Bayer Leverkusen left-back Alejandro Grimaldo.

Kylian Mbappé is also listed, while there is plenty of Premier League interest with the Arsenal duo William Saliba and Martin Ødegaard joined by the Manchester City rivals Rúben Dias and Erling Haaland.

The Aston Villa and Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez again makes the shortlist, while the London-born Ademola Lookman was also nominated after he inspired Atalanta to Europa League glory in May.

A first-time winner is guaranteed as there was no place for either Messi or Ronaldo, while Karim Benzema and Luka Modric – the only other previous recipients still playing – were also left off the shortlist.