Rodrygo is the most surprising absence on the list. The Brazilian striker has 17 goals and nine assists in 51 matches in all competitions, playing an important role in Real Madrid’s three titles last season including La Liga, Spanish Super Cup and Champions League.
After France Football magazine announced the 2024 Ballon d'Or nominations, Rodrygo responded by posting a photo of himself holding the three titles with Madrid last season on his Instagram story with a laugh out loud emoji. The photo also shows him celebrating his goal against Man City in the quarterfinals and bringing a penalty for Madrid against Bayern in the Champions League semifinals.
Neymar also supported his teammate by posting on social media: "Rodrygo is at least top five in the world.”
Robert Lewandowski is a rare ray of light in Barca's lackluster season. The Polish striker has 26 goals and nine assists in 49 games across all competitions, including 19 goals and eight assists in La Liga. But in the Euro 2024, he was injured and only scored a penalty, which was not enough to help Poland get past the group stage.
Jamal Musiala was not nominated despite scoring 12 goals and providing eight assists in 38 games for Bayern Munich last season. The German winger scored three goals at Euro 2024, at 21 years, four months and three days old.
In Euro history, only England's Wayne Rooney has achieved this feat at a younger age, at 18 years, 7 months and 28 days at Euro 2004.
In terms of individual stats, the stars who performed well last season and were not nominated are Kevin De Bruyne (6 goals, 18 assists), Ilkay Gundogan (5 goals, 14 assists), Bernardo Silva (11 goals, 10 assists), Bruno Fernandes (15 goals, 13 assists), Antoine Griezmann (24 goals, 8 assists) and Artem Dovbyk (25 goals, 10 assists).
In this photo, Kevin De Bruyne (number 17) plays in the match between Man City and Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park, London in the Premier League on April 6, 2024.
The 2024 Ballon d'Or is also the first edition since 2003 that neither Lionel Messi nor Cristiano Ronaldo are on the list of 30 nominees. At that time, the Portuguese striker had just moved to Manchester United, while Messi was still a young talent and had not made it into Barcelona’s first team.
The voting criteria for the Ballon d'Or are still based on three factors, individual performance, collective achievements in a season and football level. According to bookmakers, Vinicius Junior and Rodri have the best chance of winning.
The 2024 Ballon d'Or ceremony will take place on Oct. 28, 2024 at the Chatelet Theater in Paris, France.
