Super Eagles star Lookman nominated for Ballon d’Or; Messi, Ronaldo, Osimhen miss out
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
Agriculture
FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology
The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices
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.”
Lagos
Lagos assembly passes 2026 appropriation amendment bill
The passage followed consideration of a letter from Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu seeking the assembly’s approval to reorder priorities under the 2026 budget.
States
Insecurity: Army to deploy additional troops to Plateau
The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Waidi Shaibu, says the Nigerian Army will deploy additional troops to reinforce security operations in Plateau.
NationWide
NAF receives five new helicopters to boost operations
Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, NAF director of public relations and information, said seven more are expected before the end of 2026.
States
Oyo govt targets unregistered hospitality businesses to boost tax revenue, security
The Oyo State government says it has renewed its drive to bring all hospitality businesses into the tax system.
Education
CAPPA urges end to persecution of UI student activists over fee hike protest
The Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) urged the University of Ibadan management to stop persecuting student activists.
World
Trump slams Supreme Court justices for rejecting restrictions on mail-in voting
The court on Monday rejected the Trump administration’s request to stay the implementation of a universal injunction against new mail-in ballot rules from the U.S. Postal Service.
