Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo were left off the list of nominees for this year’s Ballon d’Or award for the first time since 2003, according to a report from French football-focused media L’Equip.
Record eight-time winner Messi, and his longtime rival Ronaldo, who has five Ballon d’Ors 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.
Players who managed to make the list included: Vinicius Junior, Rodri, Jude Bellingham, Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland, and Harry Kane.
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.
Earlier this summer, Mbappe finally sealed his expected move to Madrid after spending six seasons at PSG.
Messi won his first Ballon d’Or in 2009, which marked the start of a four-year streak of taking the top prize.
Ronaldo and Messi turned the competition into a near two-way contest during the peak of their careers, winning the award a combined 13 times since 2008.