France Football announced the list of nominees for the 2024 Ballon d’Or on Wednesday, heralding a new and exciting era in both the men’s and women’s games. Both lists of nominees celebrated young stars who collected some of the sport’s best accolades, including first-time UEFA Champions League winner Jude Bellingham and two-time Premier League champion Erling Haaland, as well as US women’s national team Olympic gold medalist Trinity Rodman, Mallory Swanson and Sophia Smith. The individual honor was, as usual, awarded to those who won other top international prizes such as the UEFA Women’s Champions League, the Men’s European Championship and the Copa America.
Thirty players were each nominated for the men’s and women’s awards, and the winner will be announced at a ceremony in Paris on October 28.
Here’s a look at the contenders for each award and rank them by level:
Nominees for the Ballon d’Or men
I’m happy to be here
- Hakan Calhanoglou (Inter and Turkiye)
- Dani Carvajal (Real Madrid and Spain)
- Ruben Dias (Manchester City and Portugal)
- Artem Dovbyk (Girona/Roma and Ukraine)
- Alejandro Grimaldo (Bayer Leverkusen and Spain)
- Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund/Roma and Germany)
- Ademola Lookman (Atalanta and Nigeria)
- Martin Odegaard (Arsenal and Norway)
- Antonio Rudiger (Real Madrid and Germany)
- William Saliba (Arsenal and France)
- Nico Williams (athletics Bilbao and Spain)
Each of these players has had a memorable year and is being rewarded for it, something especially true for UEFA Europa League champion Ademola Lookman and UEFA Champions League finalist Mats Hummels. The nomination is essentially a victory for this group, although a few of them may rise higher in the coming years, especially depending on their accolades for club or country.
Long shots
- Lautaro Martinez (Inter and Argentina)
- Dani Olmo (RB Leipzig/Barcelona and Spain)
- Cole Palmer (Chelsea and England)
- Bukayo Saka (Arsenal and England)
- Federico Valverde (Real Madrid and Uruguay)
- Vitinha (Paris Saint-Germain and Portugal)
- Florian Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen and Germany)
- Granit Xhaka (Bayer Leverkusen and Switzerland)
This group consists of a mix of people who have received the necessary accolades to be in the running for the Ballon d’Or, plus some rising stars like Bukayo Saka and Cole Palmer. The players in this section will likely steal some votes from the real contenders for the award, but may struggle to beat a handful of other players. The only exceptions here power These are the Argentinian Lautaro Martinez and the Spaniard Dani Olmo, who both impressed at the summer tournaments with their goals and their trophies.
Contenders
- Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid and England)
- Phil Foden (Manchester City and England)
- Erling Haaland (Manchester City and Norway)
- Harry Kane (Bayern Munich and England)
- Toni Kroos (Real Madrid and Germany)
- Emilian Martinez (Aston Villa and Argentina)
- Kylian Mbappé (Paris Saint-Germain/Real Madrid and France)
- Rodri (Manchester City and Spain)
- Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid and Brazil)
- Lamine Yamal (Barcelona and Spain)
This year’s Ballon d’Or officially marks the end of the era when Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo traded the award, as neither earned a nomination this time around. It means there’s an exciting new world order in the men’s game and a lot of uncertainty over who will actually win the coveted prize. It could go to a nominee who is expected to be one of the defining players of the era, such as Bellingham, Haaland, Kylian Mbappe or Vinicius Junior, all of whom won major trophies in 2024. There is also a group of players who will undoubtedly be the were the best in the competition. game this year, the likes of Phil Foden, Harry Kane and Emiliano Martinez, while a tribute to Toni Kroos upon his retirement could be in the offing and a recognition of the talents of teenager Lamine Yamal. The possibilities seem endless, and it feels like the first year of many where that will be the case.
Nominees for the Ballon d’Or ladies
I’m happy to be here
- Tabitha Chawinga (Lyon and Malawi)
- Grace Geyoro (Paris Saint-Germain and France)
- Manuela Giugliano (Roma and Italy)
- Yui Hasegawa (Manchester City and Japan)
- Ada Hegerberg (Lyon and Norway)
- Lauren Hemp (Manchester City and England)
- Sjoeke Nusken (Chelsea and Germany)
- Ewa Pajor (Wolfsburg/Barcelona and Poland)
- Alexia Putellas (Barcelona and Spain)
- Glodís Viggosdottir (Bayern Munich and Iceland)
Like the other sections of the shortlist, this group spotlights some of the game’s top talents, including two former Ballon d’Or winners in Ada Hegerberg and Alexia Putellas. However, an annual award like the Ballon d’Or is an exercise in recency and while few would question the quality of these players, this year is unlikely to be the year that any of them will win the award. The only UEFA Women’s Champions League winner of the group is Putellas, while no one took the coveted Olympic gold medal. The accolades from two teams will likely count heavily in favor of the eventual winners in the voting process. However, it doesn’t mean that these players won’t be in the conversation for years to come; the shares of Grace Geyoro, Yui Hasegawa and Ewa Pajor are on the rise, while Tabitha Chawinga made many breakthroughs in her first season at Lyon. as does her sister Temwa, who now works at the NWSL’s Kansas City Current.
Long shots
- Mariona Caldentay (Barcelona and Spain)
- Patiricia Guijarro (Barcelona and Spain)
- Giulia Gwinn (Bayern Munich and Germany)
- Lindsey Horan (Lyon and United States)
- Marie-Antoinette Katato (Paris Saint-Germain and France)
- Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars and United States)
- Salma Parauello (Barcelona and Spain)
- Mayra Ramirez (Levante/Chelsea and Colombia)
- Lea Schuller (Bayern Munich and Germany)
This group of players had some highs in 2024 and generated enough buzz to match their talents and land among the dark horses for the Ballon d’Or. There are a trio of Champions League winners, plus a pair of Olympic bronze medalists and a gold medal-winning duo – including the only nominated goalkeeper, Alyssa Naeher – in this section. Mayra Ramirez, meanwhile, deserves a place here after Chelsea set the European transfer record in women’s football this year by signing her from Levante and Marie-Antoinette Katoto was the leading goalscorer at the Olympics. This group will undoubtedly earn some admiration from the voting body, but the nomination could be an addition to their other achievements in 2024 rather than an indication that they will win the whole thing.
Contenders
- Barbra Banda (Orlando Pride and Zambia)
- Aitana Bonmati (Barcelona and Spain)
- Lucy Bronze (Lyon/Chelsea and England)
- Carline Graham Hansen (Barcelona and Norway)
- Lauren James (Chelsea and England)
- Gabi Portilho (Corinthians and Brazil)
- Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit and United States)
- Khadija Shaw (Manchester City and Jamaica)
- Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns and United States)
- Mallory Swanson (Chicago Red Stars and United States)
- Tarciane (Houston Dash and Brazil)
This group of players all had standout years in 2024, either with major honors for club or country, or with a breakthrough season at club level. The USWNT’s goal-scoring attacking trio Trinity Rodman, Sophia Smith and Mallory Swanson needed to finish after winning gold in Paris, while Gabi Portillo and Tarciane could win votes after Brazil’s impressive silver medal at the Olympics. Last year’s winner, Aitana Bonmati, has barely missed a step since, while the likes of Lucy Bronze, Caroline Graham Hansne and Lauren James also make it to the finish line after maintaining their status as some of the best players in the game. As for Khadija “Bunny” Shaw, she had a banner year as WSL’s Player of the Year and Barbra Banda has taken the NWSL by storm in her first season in Orlando. They all have a strong case, making this a very competitive match.