Sports
Messi, Ronaldo missing out of nominees for Sports Ballon d’Or for the first time
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have both been left off the list of nominees for this year’s Ballon d’Or award, marking the first time neither star was nominated since 2003.
Record eight-time winner Messi, and his longtime rival Ronaldo, who has five Ballon d’Or to his name, did not feature Wednesday in a list of 30 players in the running for this year’s prize, which will be presented on October 28.
Vinicius Junior, Rodri, Jude Bellingham, Kylian Mbappé, Erling Haaland, and Harry Kane are among the names nominated.
Teammates Vinicius and Bellingham helped Real Madrid win La Liga and the club’s 16th Champions League title last season, while Haaland led the Premier League in goals scored and Kane did the same for Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga.
Recall that earlier this summer, Mbappé finally sealed his expected move to Madrid after spending six seasons at PSG.
Messi, who is working his way back from injury with club side Inter Miami, won the award last year.
The award has gone to Spanish players in each of the past three years, twice to Putellas and last year to Bonmatí.
England, beaten by Spain in the 2023 World Cup final, has three nominees, Lauren Hemp, Lauren James, and Lucy Bronze.
See full list below:
Men’s Ballon d’Or nominees
Jude Bellingham (England and Real Madrid)
Ruben Dias (Portugal and Manchester City)
Phil Foden (England and Manchester City)
Federico Valverde (Uruguay and Real Madrid)
Emiliano Martinez (Argentina and Aston Villa)
Cole Palmer (England and Chelsea)
Erling Haaland (Norway and Manchester City)
Ademola Lookman (Nigeria and Atalanta)
Nico Williams (Spain and Athletic Bilbao)
Granit Xhaka (Switzerland and Bayer Leverkusen)
Artem Dovbyk (Ukraine and Roma)
Toni Kroos (former Germany and Real Madrid)
Vinicius Jr (Brazil and Real Madrid)
Dani Olmo (Spain and Barcelona)
Florian Wirtz (Germany and Bayer Leverkusen)
Martin Odegaard (Norway and Arsenal)
Mats Hummels (Germany, free agent)
Rodri (Spain and Manchester City)
Harry Kane (England and Bayern Munich)
Declan Rice (England and Arsenal)
Vitinha (Portugal and Paris St-Germain)
Dani Carvajal (Spain and Real Madrid)
Lamine Yamal (Spain and Barcelona)
Bukayo Saka (England and Arsenal)
Hakan Calhanoglu (Turkey and Inter Milan)
William Saliba (France and Arsenal)
Kylian Mbappe (France and Real Madrid)
Lautaro Martinez (Argentina and Inter Milan)
Antonio Rudiger (Germany and Real Madrid)
Alejandro Grimaldo (Spain and Bayer Leverkusen)
Women’s Ballon d’Or nominees
Aitana Bonmati (Spain and Barcelona)
Barbra Banda (Zambia and Orlando Pride)
Tarciane (Brazil and Houston Dash)
Lauren Hemp (England and Manchester City)
Trinity Rodman (United States and Washington Spirit)
Ada Hegerberg (Norway and Lyon)
Manuela Giugliano (Italy and Roma)
Mallory Swanson (United States and Chicago Red Stars)
Glodis Viggosdottir (Iceland and Bayern Munich)
Mariona Caldentey (Spain and Arsenal)
Lauren James (England and Chelsea)
Lea Schuller (Germany and Bayern Munich)
Patricia Guijarro (Spain and Barcelona)
Gabi Portilho (Brazil and Corinthians)
Tabitha Chawinga (Malawi and Lyon)
Caroline Graham Hansen (Norway and Barcelona)
Lindsey Horan (United States and Lyon)
Sjoeke Nusken (Germany and Chelsea)
Yui Hasegawa (Japan and Manchester City)
Lucy Bronze (England and Chelsea)
Salma Paralluelo (Spain and Barcelona)
Giulia Gwinn (Germany and Bayern Munich)
Khadija Shaw (Jamaica and Manchester City)
Grace Geyoro (France and Paris St-Germain)
Alexia Putellas (Spain and Barcelona)
Sophia Smith (United States and Portland Thorns)
Ewa Pajor (Poland and Barcelona)
Alyssa Naeher (United States and Chicago Red Stars)
Mayra Ramirez (Colombia and Chelsea)
Marie-Antoinette Katoto (France and Paris St-Germain)
Kopa Trophy nominees
Pau Cubarsi – (Spain and Barcelona)
Alejandro Garnacho – (Argentina and Manchester United)
Lamine Yamal – (Spain and Barcelona)
Arda Guler – (Turkey and Real Madrid)
Karim Konate – (Cote d’Ivoire and Salzburg)
Kobbie Mainoo – (England and Manchester United)
Joao Neyes – (Portugal and PSG)
Savinho Oliveira – (Brazil and Manchester City)
Mathys Tel – (France and Bayern Munich)
Warren Zaire-Emery – (France and PSG)
Fenerbahçe manager, José Mourinho, has been handed a ban for his comments following their 0-0 draw with Galatasaray last weekend.
After the Istanbul Derby on Sunday, Mourinho criticised the Galatasaray bench for “jumping like monkeys” following an early challenge.
The former Chelsea and Manchester United boss also claimed the match would have been a “disaster” if a Turkish referee had been put in charge instead of Slovenian official Slavko Vinčić.
Galatasaray later issued a strong statement accusing Mourinho of racism and threatening legal action.
In response, Fenerbahçe hit back with a statement of their own, insisting their coach’s comments were “completely taken out of context and an attempt was made to deliberately distort them”.
Now, according to Sky Sports, the Turkish Football Federation has decided to punish Mourinho with a two-game ban for racist comments and a further two-match suspension for offensive remarks made about the fourth official.
Chelsea stormed back into Premier League top four with a commanding 4-0 victory over struggling Southampton at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday.
The emphatic win lifted Enzo Maresca’s side to fourth place, reigniting hopes of a Champions League return after three consecutive defeats had cast doubt over their campaign.
Amid growing frustration among supporters—who gathered pre-match to chant for former owner Roman Abramovich—Christopher Nkunku opened the scoring with a courageous header, marking his 14th goal of the season.
The French star celebrated in trademark style, blowing a blue balloon, signaling a return of belief at the Bridge.
Pedro Neto doubled Chelsea’s lead with a clinical strike before Levi Colwill powered home a header from a Neto free-kick just before halftime.
The Blues capped their largest Premier League victory since 2022 when Marc Cucurella slotted in the fourth late on, ensuring the dominant display didn’t go unrewarded.
Facing pointed questions after defeats to Aston Villa and Brighton, Maresca insisted Chelsea were “on the right track.”
His side answered emphatically, though critics might note Southampton’s woeful form—bottom of the table with just nine points from 27 matches.
For Southampton, the defeat further deepened their crisis.
With 11 goals conceded in their last three league games and manager Ivan Juric branding the season a “disaster,” the Saints look destined to replicate their 2022-23 relegation woes.
While Chelsea’s top-four hopes received a boost, their position remains precarious.
For now, though, Chelsea can take solace in a performance that suggests Maresca’s project may yet bear fruit.
Manchester City and Newcastle could reclaim fourth spot with wins in their midweek fixtures.
Police on Monday said they were investigating the death of Nigerian footballer Abubakar Lawal who fell from a shopping mall balcony in Kampala.
The 29-year-old striker played for local premiership club Vipers.
He fell from the third floor of Voicemall Shopping Arcade early on Monday, police said in a statement.
He had been visiting a Tanzanian friend staying in one of the residential apartments that form part of the mall.
The friend told police she had left him alone shortly before the fall.
Authorities are retrieving CCTV footage and conducting thorough interrogations to establish the exact circumstances surrounding the incident,” police said.
The Vipers Sports Club said in a statement: “We are deeply saddened to announce the sudden and untimely passing of our beloved player, Abubakar Lawal, who left us this morning.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Lawal’s family, club fans, friends and loved ones during this difficult time,” it added.
Lawal had been the team’s striker since joining the club in July 2022 after two years with AS Kigali in Rwanda.
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