Lionel Messi misses out on Ballon D'Or nomination for the first time since 2005

On Friday, August 12, France Football announced the Ballon D'Or voting list, which will decide the greatest European footballer from the last year on October 17, a month before the FIFA World Cup. Lionel Messi was absent from the 30-member list that included the world's top talents for the first time since 2005 after the Argentine had a dismal debut season with Paris Saint-Germain.

Messi, the world's highest-paid footballer, was forced to leave FC Barcelona due to financial issues following the 2020/21 season and found a home with PSG, where he was part of one of the most star-studded attacking trios of all time. Messi, however, failed to adapt and had his most disappointing season since moving to PSG.

Cristophe Galtier, PSG's recently hired head coach, was full of praise for Lionel Messi ahead of Saturday's encounter against Montpellier. "When you have such a record and you have played so many games, won so many trophies and been so decisive in your career, it's because you are a great professional," he said in the pre-match press conference.

Meanwhile, Messi's major rival, Cristiano Ronaldo, stayed in the top 30 after leading Manchester United to the most Premier League goals last season. The Lionel Messi-Cristiano Ronaldo era is set to come to an end, with Karim Benzema and Thibaut Courtois favourites to win the trophy following their remarkable season in which they won LaLiga, the UEFA Champions League, and the UEFA Super Cup.

If Cristiano Ronaldo does not win the Ballon d'Or this season, it will just be the second occasion since 2008 that neither Lionel Messi nor Ronaldo has lifted the prize.

Shortlisted players to win the Ballon D'Or

Thibaut Courtois, Rafael Leao, Christopher Nkunku, Mohamed Salah, Joshua Kimmich, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Vinicius Junior, Bernardo Silva, Luis Diaz, Robert Lewandowski, Riyad Mahrez, Casemiro, Heung-Min Son, Fabinho, Karim Benzema, Mike Maignan, Harry Kane, Darwin Nunez, Phil Foden, Sadio Mane, Sebastien Haller, Luka Modric, Antonio Rudiger, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kevin De Bruyne, Dusan Vlahovic, Virgil van Dijk, Joao Cancelo, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland