All eyes on Monday night will be firmly fixed on the French capital as the 2024 Ballon d’Or award ceremony takes place as the Théâtre du Châtelet and Paris welcomes the best of the soccer world as players, head coaches and executives gather to celebrate the ‘Soccer Oscars’.

Ten prestigious awards will be handed out over the course of the ceremony and these will be based on individual and team performances, achievements along with class and fair play and these elements will be the key criteria used by an international jury of 100 specialised journalists when voting on the best players.

Key absentees

For the first time in a decade, neither Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo have been included in the shortlist of 30 players nominated for the Men’s Player of the Season award with Real Madrid striker Vini Jr and Manchester City’s Rodri the two players expected to be in contention for this award.

LaLiga leads the way

Spain’s La Liga has the most Ballon d’Or winners overall, with twenty-four wins shared between Barcelona and Real Madrid, with twelve wins each.

The two Spanish giants also lead the overall club ranking for producing the most winners and a victory for the likes of either Toni Kroos, Jude Bellingham or Vinicius Jr. on Monday would see the Bernabeu side lead the way in the overall Ballon d’Or winners ranking for ‘Men’s Player of the Year’ award.

However when it comes to Women’s Ballon d’Or awards, there is no competition with the Catalan club scooping three wins in the five years the award was handed out. Aitana adding last year to Alexia’s previous wins in 2022 and 2021.