Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo were left out of the shortlist for this year's Ballon d'Or award, marking the first time neither star has been nominated since 2003.
Eight-time Ballon d'Or winner Messi and long-time rival Ronaldo, who has five Ballon d'Ors to his name, were not included on Wednesday in a shortlist of 30 players in the running for this year's award, which will be presented on Oct. 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 LaLiga 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.
Earlier this summer, Mbappé finally sealed his long-awaited move to Madrid after spending six seasons at PSG.
Messi, who is recovering from injury with his club Inter Miami, won the award last year.
Messi, 37, won his first Ballon d'Or in 2009, the start of a four-year run of winning the top award. He was first nominated in 2006.
Ronaldo and Messi turned the competition into an almost two-way contest during the height of their careers, winning it a combined 13 times since 2008.
Ronaldo's first nomination was in 2004.
On the women's side, five American stars made the shortlist, including captain and midfielder Lindsey Horan, goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher and forwards Trinity Rodman, Sophia Smith and Mallory Swanson, just weeks after helping the Americans win the 2024 Olympic gold medal in women's soccer.
Aitana Bonmatí, Mariona Caldentey, Patri Guijarro, Salma Paralluelo and Alexia Putellas are the five Spanish players nominated for the award. Spain finished fourth at the Olympic Games, one year after winning the World Cup. The award has gone to Spanish players in each of the last three years, twice for Putellas and last year for Bonmatí.
England, who were beaten by Spain in the 2023 World Cup final, have three nominees: Lauren Hemp, Lauren James and Lucy Bronze.
Information from The Associated Press contributed to this report.
