Messi, Ronaldo excluded from Ballon d’Or nominees for first time since 2003

Football superstars Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi did not make the cut for the 2024 men's Ballon d’Or list of nominees for the first time since 2003.

The Ballon d’Or is an annual football award that honours the player who has performed the best over the previous season.

The organisers announced the nominations list of 30 European football stars, including Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappé, as well as Manchester City's Erling Haaland and Rúben Dias.

However, the two titans who have dominated the award for nearly two decades were nowhere to be found.

The record-breaking Ballon d’Or eight-time winner Messi, 37, has won the award since 2009, with last year's prize being his most recent.

While Ronaldo, 37, has five Ballon d'Ors to his name, with the first one won in 2008.

The fierce rivalry between the Argentinian and Portuguese stars has seen them dominate and win the award as they advanced in their careers.

This omission opens the door for a new generation of players to claim the trophy.

Here's the full list of 2024 men's Ballon d'Ors nominees:

1. Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid/ England)
2. Phil Foden (Manchester City/ England)
3. Ruben Dias (Manchester City/ Spain)
4. Federico Valverde (Real Madrid/ Uruguay)
5. Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa/ Argentina)
6. Erling Haaland (Manchester City/ Norway)
7. Nico Williams (Athletic Bilbao/ Spain)
8. Granit Xhaka (Bayer Leverkusen/ Switzerland)
9. Artem Dovbik (AS Roma/ Ukraine)
10. Toni Kroos (Real Madrid/ Germany)
11. Vinicius Jr (Real Madrid/ Brazil)
12. Dani Olmo (FC Barcelona/ Spain)
13. Florian Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen/ Germany)
14. Martin Odegaard (Arsenal/ Norway)
15. Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund/ Germany)
16. Rodri (Manchester City/ Spain)
17. Harry Kane (FC Bayern Munich England)
18. Declan Rice (Arsenal/ England)
19. Vitinha (PSG/ Portugal)
20. Cole Palmer (Chelsea/ England)
21. Dani Carvajal (Real Madrid/ Spain)
22. Lamine Yamal (Barcelona/ Spain)
23. Bukayo Saka (Arsenal/ England)
24. Hakan Calhanoglu (Inter Milan/ Turkey)
25. William Saliba (Arsenal/ France)
26. Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan/ Argentina)
27. Ademola Lookman (Atalanta Bergame/ Nigeria)
28. Antonio Rudiger (Real Madrid/ Germany)
29. Kylian Mbappe (PSG/Real Madrid/ France)
30. Alejandro Grimaldo (Bayer Leverkusen/ Spain)