Nigerian football star, and Atalanta of Italy player, Ademola Lookman has been nominated for the 2024 men’s Ballon d’Or award.
The Super Eagles of Nigeria forward made the list of 29 players who were selected on Wednesday for the award, France Football Magazine reports.
Ademola, 26, is the only African player on the list as eight-time winner and current holder, Lionel Messi is not listed for this year’s award, as well as five-time winner Cristiano Ronaldo.
Before his nomination, Lookman had been in outstanding form as Atalanta won its first-ever European trophy last season,
The Nigerian forward scored a hat-trick in the Europa League final against Bayer Leverkusen and 17 goals with 11 assists for Atalanta last season.
His feats were also recorded in the national team as the former Everton player made vital contribution to the Super Eagles team, even to the final of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Cote d’Ivoire early this year.
Even though the Super Eagles of Nigeria finished as runners-up in the competition, Lookman still made significant contributions after losing 2-1 to the hosts in the final.
Players from the Spanish national team which won the Euro 2024 in the summer and the Real Madrid team that won the UEFA Champions League have dominated this year’s Ballon d’Or list.
Below is the Men’s list of nominees
- Jude Bellingham
- Hakan Çalhanoğlu
- Dani Carvajal
- Martin Ødegaard
- Dani Olmo
- Cole Palmer
- Rúben Dias
- Declan Rice
- Artem Dovbyk
- Rodri
- Phil Foden
- Antonio Rüdiger
- Alejandro Grimaldo
- Bukayo Saka
- Erling Haaland
- William Saliba
- Mats Hummels
- Federico Valverde
- Harry Kane
- Vinícius Jr.
- Toni Kroos
- Vitinha
- Ademola Lookman
- Nico Williams
- Emiliano Martínez
- Florian Wirtz
- Lautaro Martínez
- Kylian Mbappé
- Granit Xhaka
- Lamine Yamal
