The Portuguese has not been nominated for the first time since 2003.
The Ballon d'Or official suggested Cristiano Ronaldo was "very upset" after not being nominated for the 2024 Ballon d'Or, prompting the forward to abstain from voting and attending the ceremony.
Awards manager Vincent Garcia revealed that Ronaldo decided to refuse to vote and attend the event after the awards decision.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo last wore the award in 2017. That is why today, the Lionel Messi has outstripped him and this genius became a multiple Ballon d’Or winner and got three more awards. The latest holder is Messi; he clinched it last year after spearheading his nation Argentina to win the 2022 World Cup. This year, however, neither Ronaldo nor Messi are included among the pretenders to the Ballon d’Or title, and for the first time in 21 years.
France Football’s chief editor Garcia also revealed that he isn’t sure whether Ronaldo intends to be physically present at the 2024 Ballon d'Or Award event or vote. Garcia said, “Winners have the right to return to all future ceremonies but some are very angry with us.” As for Cristiano, I have not directly asked if he is coming, so I do not know whether he will be there or not. I do know though that previous winners are allowed to vote for the Kopa Trophy which is given to the best young player and Cristiano has refused to vote on that category both this year and last year.
At the moment, Messi is in Inter Miami of Major League Soccer (MLS) while Ronaldo is with Al Nassr in Saudi Arabian Pro League. Mr. Garcia said that their names being on the list of nominees would have created the buzz. At the same time, the award ceremony for the 2024 Ballon d’Or is scheduled for Monday, Bellingham and Rodri stand out in the list of favorites. Other sources do point though, that Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr. could very well be taking home the trophy.
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