Ballon d'Or 2024: Lautaro and Calhanoglu among the nominees

Lautaro Martinez and Hakan Calhanoglu have been included in the list of 30 nominees for the 68th edition of the Ballon d'Or, the prestigious award established by the French magazine France Football in 1956 and given to the best player of the year.

In addition to Lautaro and Calhanoglu, Yann Sommer has also received a nomination: the Inter goalkeeper is among the ten candidates for the Yashin Trophy, awarded to the best goalkeeper of the year.

The award ceremony will take place on Monday, 28 October at the Théâtre du Châtelet in the heart of Paris. On that evening, the men’s and women’s Ballon d'Ors, the Kopa Trophy (best U21 player), the Yashin Trophy (best goalkeeper), the Gerd Müller Award (top scorer of the season), and the Club of the Year awards for both men’s and women’s teams will be presented. In addition to the usual accolades, the 2024 edition will introduce two new awards: the Men’s Coach of the Year Trophy and the Women’s Coach of the Year Trophy.

LAUTARO AND CALHANOGLU: THE NOMINATIONS

This is Lautaro Martinez’s third Ballon d'Or nomination. The Inter captain finished 21st in 2021 and 20th in 2023. For Hakan Calhanoglu, this is his first nomination.

e is the complete list of the 30 nominees for the Ballon d'Or:

• Lautaro Martinez

• Hakan Calhanoglu

• Jude Bellingham

• Ruben Dias

• Phil Foden

• Federico Valverde

• Emiliano Martinez

• Erling Haaland

• Nico Williams

• Granit Xhaka

• Artem Dovbyk

• Toni Kroos

• Vinicius Jr.

• Dani Olmo

• Florian Wirtz

• Martin Odegaard

• Mats Hummels

• Rodri

• Harry Kane

• Declan Rice

• Vitinha

• Cole Palmer

• Dani Carvajal

• Lamine Yamal

• Bukayo Saka

• William Saliba

• Kylian Mbappé

• Ademola Lookman

• Antonio Rudiger

• Alejandro Grimaldo

SOMMER NOMINATED FOR THE YASHIN TROPHY

Yann Sommer has been included in the list of ten goalkeepers nominated for the Yashin Trophy. Here is the complete list:

• Yann Sommer

• Diogo Costa

• Gianluigi Donnarumma

• Gregor Kobel

• Andrij Lunin

• Mike Maignan

• Giorgi Mamardashvili

• Emiliano Martinez

• Unai Simon

• Ronwen Williams

BALLON D'OR: HOW IT WORKS

The Ballon d'Or is awarded based on the votes of a panel of journalists, with one journalist per country representing the top 100 teams in the FIFA ranking (and top 50 for the FIFA women's ranking). Each journalist creates their personal shortlist, assigning: 6 points to the first choice, 4 to the second, 3 to the third, 2 to the fourth, and 1 to the fifth.

The voting is based on the completed season, from August 2023 to July 2024. The criteria influencing the choices include the player's performance, successes with their club, behaviour on the pitch, and fair play.