Super Eagles star Lookman nominated for Ballon d’Or; Messi, Ronaldo, Osimhen miss out
Nigerian forward Ademola Lookman has been nominated for the 2024 men’s Ballon d’Or award.
The 26-year-old Atalanta player is the only African player shortlisted alongside 29 other players for the coveted award, announced by France Football Magazine on Wednesday.
Lookman was instrumental in Atalanta’s first-ever European trophy win last season, scoring a hat-trick in the Europa League final against Bayer Leverkusen. He scored 17 goals and made 11 assists in all for Atalanta last season.
He was also a key part of the Super Eagles’ run to the final of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Cote d’Ivoire early this year, scoring two goals as Nigeria finished as runners-up.
This year’s Ballon d’Or list is dominated by players from the Spanish national team that won the Euro 2024 and the Real Madrid team that won the UEFA Champions League.
Some notable names on the list include Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Junior, Erling Haaland, and Kylian Mbappe. And for the first time since 2003, neither Lionel Messi nor Cristiano Ronaldo are in contention for one of football’s biggest individual prizes.
Full list of nominees:
Jude Bellingham
Hakan Çalhanoğlu
Dani Carvajal
Martin Ødegaard
Dani Olmo
Cole Palmer
Rúben Dias
Declan Rice
Artem Dovbyk
Rodri
Phil Foden
Antonio Rüdiger
Alejandro Grimaldo
Bukayo Saka
Erling Haaland
William Saliba
Mats Hummels
Federico Valverde
Harry Kane
Vinícius Jr.
Toni Kroos
Vitinha
Ademola Lookman
Nico Williams
Emiliano Martínez
Florian Wirtz
Lautaro Martínez
Kylian Mbappé
Granit Xhaka
Lamine Yamal
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