Kylian Mbappé and William Saliba nominated for the Ballon d’Or, Mike Maignan among the best goalkeepers

The 2024 Ballon d’Or will be awarded on October 28 at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris.

Who will succeed Lionel Messi? For the first time since 2003, neither the Argentinian nor his rival Cristiano Ronaldo have been nominated for the Ballon d’Or. France Football, the event’s organizer, revealed the 30 nominees for football’s top individual award on Wednesday, September 4, and only two French players are among them: Kylian Mbappé and William Saliba. There are no more French women in the women’s category, with only Grace Geyoro and Marie-Antoinette Katoto among the contenders. The trophies will be presented on October 28 in Paris.

Top scorer in Ligue 1 last season and French champion with PSG, Kylian Mbappé is logically among the nominees. But if he had finished third last season, his missed Euro could cost him a few places this year. His teammate in blue, William Saliba, had, on the contrary, impressed during the Euro, with performances that certainly earned him his nomination. With the departure of Kylian Mbappé to Real Madrid, only one Ligue 1 player is among the nominees: the Portuguese Vitinha. The Spaniard Rodri, European champion with the Roja and winner of the Champions League and the Premier League with Manchester City, is one of the favorites and is obviously nominated.

The French are more represented in the nominations for the Kopa Trophy for best young player (under 21), with Bayern Munich striker Mathys Tel and Parisian Warren Zaire-Emery. His new teammate in Paris, the Portuguese Joao Neves, is also nominated, even if Lamine Yamal is the favorite. PSG also sees its goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma nominated for the Yachine Trophy for best goalkeeper, as well as the Blues’ goalkeeper, Mike Maignan.

For the Women’s Ballon d’Or, only two French women are among the contenders, Parisians Grace Geyoro and Marie-Antoinette Katoto. Les Bleues are certainly paying for their lack of success on the international stage, in the Nations League and at the Olympic Games. Their former teammate at PSG, now Lyonnaise, Tabitha Chawinga, is also nominated, as are Ada Hegerberg, and Lindsey Horan, representatives of OL and Arkema Première Ligue.

Frenchwoman Sonia Bompastor, coach of Lyon last season, now at Chelsea, has been nominated for the trophy for best women’s football coach.