Winner of the Ballon d’Or an incredible seven times Lionel Messi‘s disappointing performance in his first year at Paris Saint-Germain cost him a spot on the 30-player shortlist for the most prestigious football award of the year, and he had to pay a heavy price for it.
Messi, who took home the trophy in 2018, had been included in the list of nominees every year since 2006 and has been a consistent presence in the top three every year since 2007, with the exception of 2018.
Among the candidates for the women’s prize is Lucy Bronze, who finished in second place in the previous year’s competition. Bronze is one of three players from England’s team that won the Euro.