Monday, September 16, 2024

Super Eagles star Lookman nominated for Ballon d’Or; Messi, Ronaldo, Osimhen miss out

Lookman bagged a hat-trick as Atalanta won its first-ever European trophy last season.

• September 4, 2024
Ademola Lookman
Ademola Lookman

Nigerian forward Ademola Lookman has been nominated for the 2024 men’s Ballon d’Or award.

The 26-year-old Atalanta player is the only African player shortlisted alongside 29 other players for the coveted award, announced by France Football Magazine on Wednesday.

Lookman was instrumental in Atalanta’s first-ever European trophy win last season, scoring a hat-trick in the Europa League final against Bayer Leverkusen. He scored 17 goals and made 11 assists in all for Atalanta last season.

He was also a key part of the Super Eagles’ run to the final of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Cote d’Ivoire early this year, scoring two goals as Nigeria finished as runners-up.

This year’s Ballon d’Or list is dominated by players from the Spanish national team that won the Euro 2024 and the Real Madrid team that won the UEFA Champions League.

Some notable names on the list include Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Junior, Erling Haaland, and Kylian Mbappe. And for the first time since 2003, neither Lionel Messi nor Cristiano Ronaldo are in contention for one of football’s biggest individual prizes.

Full 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

We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.

More from Peoples Gazette

Katsina State

Politics

Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku

“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”

judges

NationWide

Federal High Court judges return to court Tuesday after annual vacation

On Tuesday, Federal High Court judges will return to the courtrooms following the end of their annual vacation.

Doctors

Health

Alarm raised over increasing prevalence of dementia in Nigeria

A psycho-socialist, Dotun Ajiboye, has raised the alarm over the increasing prevalence of dementia in Nigeria.

Economy

Bankly announces new MD, launches 35% high-yield investment product

Bankly has announced Stephen Amodu as the managing director of its banking division.

Flooded Maiduguri

States

Zulum seeks NEMA’s support to resettle Maiduguri flood victims 

Mr Zulum has called for NEMA’s support to resettle flood disaster victims in their respective communities.

Ribadu and Aziegbemi

Politics

Election Rigging: Ribadu threatens to sue PDP chairman over $2 million allegation

Mr Ribadu is demanding payment of N10 billion as damages for reputational and other injuries.

Bauchi State governor, Bala Mohammed

Faith

Bauchi governor asks Nigerians to pray for hardship to end

“May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon our beloved Prophet Muhammad. May Allah continue to guide and protect us,” Mr Mohammed said.