The 2024 Ballon d’Or gala will take place at Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris On Monday evening with the world’s best player of the past year crowned by France Football magazine.

No Messi, no Cristiano at the Ballon d’Or for the first time since 2003

This year’s event will be one with a difference. For the first time since 2003, the two superstars who have dominated the ceremony for the past two decades won;t be there. Neither Lionel Messi nor Cristiano Ronaldo feature among the 30-player shortlist of nominees for the 2024 men’s award. Cristiano gained his first nomination in 2004 and holds the record (18) but didn’t make the cut in last year’s edition (which Messi won).

And this year, Messi has not received a nomination. The Inter Miami captain received his first nomination in 2006 and featured in all of the subsequent galas up until 2022 when he was a victim of PSG’s disappointing season (the team were crowned Ligue 1 champions in his debut season but were knocked out of the Champions League in the Last 16).

Messi has a total of 16 nominations for the Ballon d’Or and is the player to have won it the most with eight awards compared to Cristiano’s five.

Vinicius Jr is the big favorite to land this year’s award. He played a key role in Real Madrid’s successful campaign which delivered four trophies: LaLiga, the Champions League along with the European and Spanish Supercups. He is one of six Madrid players nominated, together with Jude Bellingham, Dani Carvajal, Toni Kroos, Fede Valverde and Antonio Rüdiger (seven if you include Kylian Mbappé).

On Thursday, in a press conference prior to Inter Miami’s match against Atlanta United in the MLS playoffs, Spanish defender Jordi Alba shared his point of view on the nominees and Monday’s awards ceremony.

From a personal point of view, Alba believes that Messi should have been among this year’s nominees, as he considers his teammate to be the best player in the world. But he also acknowledged that this year’s voting had favored new faces and players that have triumphed elsewhere.

“For me, Leo always has to be there. Maybe because he came here he hasn’t been given any importance, but he continues to make a difference.For me, he is the best in the world without a doubt and in his country, with Argentina he continues to make a difference. For me, he is the best, he has always shown it, but it is respectable that they give it to someone else,” the left-back said.

Alba added that Messi deserves every kind of recognition because for him, the Argentine shows it on the field of play and makes a difference with the rest of the players.

“Every time I am asked about Messi I say that he deserves all the awards that can be given to him, I think he is the best player in the world by far and for me he is the best,” he added.

Jordi Alba avoids the label of main favourites for the title for Inter Miami

Moving on to other matters, the former Barcelona player spoke about the start of the playoffs in which Miami will face Atlanta United in the first of a best-of-three series which starts Friday and despite the fact that the Fort Lauderdale team is the one which many expect to win and progress, Jordi Alba prefers to play down the favorites tag.

The full-back assured that the Herons must maintain the same structure that gave them results in the regular season and take advantage of the home advantage they will have in these MLS playoffs.

“We’ll see about the main candidates. I already said that we weren’t going to win just because of our name, but by the work we are doing on the field of play. We’re doing a spectacular job and I think we’re stronger at home with our people behind us”, Alba concluded.