Ademola Lookman Nominated For 2024 Ballon D’Or Award
Ademola Lookman, Super Eagles of Nigeria forward, has been nominated for the 2024 men’s Ballon d’Or award.
In the list announced by France Football Magazine on Wednesday, the 26-year-old Atalanta of Italy player was shortlisted alongside 29 players for the coveted award.
He is the only African player on the list. Eight-time winner and current holder Lionel Messi is not listed for this year’s award as well as five-time winner Cristiano Ronaldo.
Lookman was in scintillating form as Atalanta won its first-ever European trophy last season, with the Nigerian scoring a hat-trick in the Europa League final against Bayer Leverkusen.
He scored a total of 17 goals and made 11 assists in all for Atalanta last season.
The former Everton player was also instrumental in the Super Eagles run to the final of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Cote d’Ivoire early this year.
He scored two goals as the Nigerian team finished as runners-up in the competition after losing 2-1 to the hosts in the final.
This year’s Ballon d’Or list is dominated by players from the Spanish national team which won the Euro 2024 in the summer and the Real Madrid team that won the UEFA Champions League.
Some notable names on the list include Jude Bellingham, Vini Junior, Erling Haaland, and Kylian Mbappe.
