Ronaldo Misses Out on Ballon d’Or Shortlist for the First Time in 20 Years

Cristiano Ronaldo has missed out on a place in the 30-man shortlist for the Ballon d'Or award for the first time in 20 years.

The Portuguese icon has won the award on five occasions, with his last coming in 2017. He has made an excellent start to life at Saudi Pro League side Al Nassr, but that move came in January.

Cristiano Ronaldo spent the first half of last season at Manchester United, and his Old Trafford second spell ended in disarray. The Portuguese icon dropped out of the Red Devils' starting lineup under Erik ten Hag. He started just 10 of 16 games across competitions, scoring three goals and providing two assists.

The 38-year-old has bounced back at Al-Nassr and has taken the role of the Saudi Pro League's pioneer in his stride. He scored 14 goals and provided two assists in 16 league games for Al-Alami last season but was unable to guide them to the title.

The Portuguese icon's failure to earn a nomination in the Ballon d'Or 30-man shortlist comes a year after his longtime rival Lionel Messi was also snubbed. It's a strange occurrence of one of the two all-time greats not nominated for the award for a second straight year.

Messi has two more awards than his rival (5), and the Argentine icon is touted as the favorite to win it this year. That's largely down to his incredible 2022 FIFA World Cup campaign in Qatar, which saw him win the competition for the first time.

Meanwhile, Ronaldo endured a disappointing World Cup campaign, scoring just one goal in five games. He was dropped to the bench in the knockout rounds with Portugal crashing out in the quarterfinals to Morocco.