The nominees for the 2024 Ballon d’Or have been revealed in a tweet by the European football body, UEFA, on Wednesday.
The 68th edition of the awards ceremony will take place at the grandiose Théâtre du Châtelet, located at the Place du Châtelet in Paris on Monday 28, October.
The award aims to recognise footballers for their impressive performances, and Lionel Messi will not win another Ballon d'Or this year after being left out of the nominees revealed by organisers on Wednesday.
The 37-year-old player, claimed the eighth Ballon d'Or of his glittering career last year. He is not among the 30 contenders this time despite winning another title with Argentina at the Copa America in July.
According to reports, this same scenerio had similarly occurred in 2022 when the former Barcelona superstar, who now plays for Inter Miami, was also missing from the nominees, with Karim Benzema claiming the honours.
However, the 37-year-old returned to win the Honors last year after leading Argentina to glory at the World Cup in Qatar.
Meanwhile the five-time winner, Cristiano Ronaldo doesn't seem to have a place on the list of nominees for the awards.
The Al Nassr star, CR7 won the ballon d'or in 2008, 2013, 2014, 2016, and 2017.
Six England stars feature alongside members of Spain's Euro 2024 and Real Madrid's Champions League-winning teams.
According to reports , the most prestigious individual award in football is voted for by a jury of journalists from each of the top 100 countries in FIFA's world ranking.
Brazil forward, Vinicius Junior among the favourites is also a nominee on the list, and one of the six members of the Real Madrid team that won the Champions League and La Liga last season.
Dani Carvajal, Antonio Rudiger, Jude Bellingham, Toni Kroos, and Fede Valverde are the other nominees, while Kylian Mbappe who recently left Paris Saint-Germain for Real Madrid over the close season features too.
Carvajal and Alejandro Grimaldo are among the contenders from the victorious Spain team alongside Dani Olmo, Rodri, Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal.
Norwegian star, Erling Haaland who plays for Manchester city, and England's Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane are on the list as well.
Xabi Alonso, who won the Bundesliga in an unbeaten season with Bayer Leverkusen, is among the favourites for best coach alongside Real Madrid's Carlo Ancelotti, and Spain's Luis de la Fuente.
Meanwhile, Aitana Bonmati of Barcelona and Spain will hopefully retain the women's Ballon d'Or.
Former winners Alexia Putellas and Ada Hegerberg are also nominated, along with five members of the United States' Olympic gold medal-winning team in Sophia Smith, Mallory Swanson, Lindsey Horan, Trinity Rodman, and goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher.
