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The 30-player shortlist for the 2024 Ballon d'Or award has been announced. It is the first time in over two decades that the shortlist doesn't feature either Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo.
Here is the final 30-man shortlist for the 2024 Ballon d'Or:
- Antonio Rudiger - Real Madrid
- Kylian Mbappe - Real Madrid
- Lautaro Martinez - Inter Milan
- Ademola Lookman - Atalanta
- Alejandro Grimaldo - Bayer Leverkusen
- Dani Carvajal - Real Madrid
- William Saliba - Arsenal
- Lamine Yamal - Barcelona
- Bukayo Saka - Arsenal
- Hakan Calhanoglu - Inter Milan
- Rodri - Manchester City
- Declan Rice- Arsenal
- Harry Kane - Bayern Munich
- Cole Palmer - Chelsea
- Vitinha - PSG
- Vinicius Jr - Real Madrid
- Martin Odegaard - Arsenal
- Dani Olmo - Barcelona
- Florian Wirtz - Bayer Leverkusen
- Mats Hummels - Roma
- Erling Haaland - Manchester City
- Nico Williams - Athletic Bilbao
- Granit Xhaka - Bayer Leverkusen
- Artem Dovbik - Roma
- Toni Kroos - Real Madrid
- Jude Bellingham - Real Madrid
- Phil Foden - Manchester City
- Ruben Dias - Manchester City
- Federico Valverde - Real Madrid
- Emiliano Martinez - Aston Villa
Reigning European champions Real Madrid have seven representatives in the shortlist, closely followed by Pep Guardiola's City, who have four.
Rodri backed to win the Ballon d'Or
Pundits Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer, and Micah Richards all threw their weight behind Manchester City midfielder Rodri to win the 2024 Ballon d'Or. The Spanish midfielder won the 2024 Euros with La Roja and was named the best player of the tournament.
On 'The Rest is Football' podcast, the former players unanimously agreed that Rodri should win the individual award.
Richards initially named the 28-year-old as his choice for the 2024 Ballon d'Or award and asked the panel if they agreed with him.
"Quick answer? Rodri! We all agree on Rodri, do we?," said the former Manchester City defender.
Both Shearer and Lineker agreed with Richards' choice. The former England defender even put forward other potential candidates for the award.
"Vinicius Junior, [Jude] Bellingham, if Bellingham would have won the Euros with England, he was a big shout, wasn’t he, a big possibility. It’s hard, isn’t it?" Richards asked.
However, both Shearer and Lineker swatted the other names aside, claiming only Rodri deserves it.
"There’s only one player winning it," Shearer said.
"I think so as well. I really do," agreed Lineker before adding, "I think Rodri deserves it. Obviously, they didn’t win the Champions League, City but they did win the league and the Euros with Spain where he was very much their leader."
The winner for the award will be announced on Monday, October 28.
