Nigeria’s Super Eagles forward, Ademola Lookman, has been nominated for the prestigious 2024 men’s Ballon d’Or award.

The 26-year-old Atalanta forward is among 29 players shortlisted for the award, as revealed by France Football magazine on Wednesday. Lookman stands out as the only African player on the list. Notably, neither eight-time winner and current holder Lionel Messi nor five-time winner Cristiano Ronaldo have been nominated for this year’s edition.

Lookman played a key role in Atalanta’s successful campaign last season, helping the club secure its first-ever European trophy. His standout performance came in the Europa League final, where he netted a hat-trick against Bayer Leverkusen. Overall, Lookman scored 17 goals and provided 11 assists for Atalanta last season.

A former Everton player, Lookman was also instrumental in Nigeria’s journey to the final of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Côte d’Ivoire earlier this year. He scored two goals in the tournament, although Nigeria ultimately finished as runners-up after a 2-1 loss to the hosts in the final.

The 2024 Ballon d’Or nominee list is dominated by players from the Spanish national team, who won Euro 2024, and Real Madrid, who claimed the UEFA Champions League title. Among the notable names are Jude Bellingham, Vinícius Júnior, Erling Haaland, and Kylian Mbappé.

Full list of nominees for the 2024 Men’s Ballon d’Or:

• Jude Bellingham
• Hakan Çalhanoğlu
• Dani Carvajal
• Martin Ødegaard
• Dani Olmo
• Cole Palmer
• Rúben Dias
• Declan Rice
• Artem Dovbyk
• Rodri
• Phil Foden
• Antonio Rüdiger
• Alejandro Grimaldo
• Bukayo Saka
• Erling Haaland
• William Saliba
• Mats Hummels
• Federico Valverde
• Harry Kane
• Vinícius Júnior
• Toni Kroos
• Vitinha
• Ademola Lookman
• Nico Williams
• Emiliano Martínez
• Florian Wirtz
• Lautaro Martínez
• Kylian Mbappé
• Granit Xhaka
• Lamine Yamal