Ballon d'Or: Lionel Messi left off nominees list for first time since 2005 as Karim Benzema leads contenders

Lionel Messi has been left off the 30-man list of Ballon d'Or nominees for the first time since 2005 after the contenders were announced by France Football on Friday.

Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema leads the nominees as he bids to win the first Ballon d'Or award of his career. Cristiano Ronaldo, Robert Lewandowski, Erling Haaland were also included in the list of this year's nominees.

There was no place, either, for Messi's Paris Saint-Germain teammate Neymar.

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Three United States women's national team players feature among the 20 nominees for the Women's Ballon d'Or — Catarina Macario, Alex Morgan and Trinity Rodman.

Last year's winner Alexia Putellas is one of five Barcelona players on the list despite suffering a serious knee injury on the eve of this summer's European Championships, while there are spots for three players who helped England to Euros glory, Millie Bright, Lucy Bronze and Beth Mead.

The big surprise, though, came in the men's nominees when Messi's run of 15 consecutive nominations, featuring seven wins, comes to an end after a disappointing first season at PSG following his shock move from Barcelona last year. The 35-year-old scored just 11 goals in all competitions last season.

France international Benzema has enjoyed a sensational year after playing an influential role in helping Madrid win the LaLiga and Champions League double last season.

The 34-year-old finished the 2021-22 campaign as LaLiga top scorer with 27 goals while he scored in every Champions League knockout round, and also missed out on scoring in the final after seeing a goal disallowed.

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