How will the winner of the 2024 Ballon d'Or be determined?

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are both missing from this year's Ballon d'Or shortlist. Combine that with the departure of several other big names and we are guaranteed a first-place winner in the men's championship.

The winners of the Ballon d'Or will be announced on October 28th at the Théâtre du Chatelet in Paris. It starts at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time and 7:00 p.m. GMT.

But how are the prestigious awards awarded and who is on the shortlists this year?

What is the Ballon d'Or?

The award, presented by France Football magazine since 1956 (2018 for women), which sparks debate in hair salons and online, aims to select the best female footballers in the world for this year. This year, UEFA – the governing body of European football – will help organize the award for the first time.

FIFA and France Football collaborated on the award from 2010 to 2015, but eight years ago FIFA created its own trophy: The Best.

Messi leads the way with eight Ballon d'Or wins between 2009 and 2023. Ronaldo has won five. The pair have dominated the men's award in recent history, but for the first time in 21 years neither was nominated.

Messi with the Ballon d'Or (Chris Arjoon/AFP via Getty Images)

On the women's side, Spain have won the last three awards – Alexia Putellas has two and Aitana Bonmati was the most recent winner.

The award's popularity in the wider culture has even led to the release of an Afrobeats song named after it – B. D'OR by Grammy winner Burna Boy (a Manchester United fan).

Who decides the winners of the Ballon d'Or?

The Ballon d'Or is decided by 100 journalists, one from each of the top 100 FIFA member nations (top 50 for the women's award). Each journalist makes their top 10 selection from the 30-strong shortlist and there are different point values ​​for each.

First: 15 points
Second: 12 points
Third: 10 points
Fourth: Eight points
Fifth: Seven points
Sixth: Five points
Seventh: Four points
Eighth: Three points
Ninth: Two points
Tenth: One point

If you score the most points, you will receive the Ballon d'Or. In the unlikely event of a tie, the winner would be determined by the first place votes.

Paul Kennedy was the US journalist who voted in 2023 and Henry Winter took part in the election in England.

Voting is subjective, meaning results vary, with some journalists making headlines with their left-field decisions. Sri Lankan journalist Hafiz Marikar voted Leonardo Bonucci the best player in the world in 2017, Eden Hazard in 2018 and Trent Alexander-Arnold in 2019. This was before the Ballon d'Or decision changed in 2022 to include only the top 100 players nations were selected from the FIFA rankings. So far, votes have been received from all FIFA-recognized nations – Sri Lanka is currently ranked 200th.

A reminder of who's on the Ballon d'Or shortlists this year…

Men

Ademola Lookman – Atalanta
Alejandro Grimaldo – Bayer Leverkusen
Antonio Rudiger – Real Madrid
Artem Dovbyk – Roma
Bukayo Saka – Arsenal
Cole Palmer-Chelsea
Dani Carvajal – Real Madrid
Dani Olmo – Barcelona
Declan Rice – Arsenal
Emiliano Martinez – Aston Villa
Erling Haaland – Manchester City
Federico Valverde – Real Madrid
Florian Wirtz – Bayer Leverkusen
Granit Xhaka – Bayer Leverkusen
Hakan Calhanoglu – Inter Milan
Harry Kane – Bayern Munich
Jude Bellingham – Real Madrid
Kylian Mbappe – Real Madrid
Lamine Yamal – Barcelona
Lautaro Martinez – Inter Milan
Martin Odegaard – Arsenal
Mats Hummels – Borussia Dortmund
Nico Williams – Athletic Bilbao
Phil Foden – Manchester City
Rodri – Manchester City
Ruben Dias – Manchester City
Toni Kroos – Real Madrid
Vinicius Junior – Real Madrid
Vitinha – Paris Saint Germain
William Saliba – Arsenal

Bellingham is on the shortlist for the Ballon d'Or (Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

Women

Ada Hegerberg – Lyon
Aitana Bonmati – Barcelona
Alexia Putellas – Barcelona
Alyssa Naheher – Chicago Red Stars
Barbra Banda – Orlando Pride
Caroline Graham Hansen – Barcelona
Ewa Pajor – Barcelona
Gabi Portilho – Corinthians
Giulia Gwinn – Bayern Munich
Glodis Viggosdottir – Bayern Munich
Grace Geyoro – Paris Saint Germain
Khadija Shaw – Manchester City
Lauren Hemp – Manchester City
Lauren James-Chelsea
Lea Schuller – Bayern Munich
Lindsey Horan – Lyons
Lucy Bronze – Chelsea
Mallory Swanson – Chicago Red Stars
Manuela Giugliano – Roma
Marie-Antoinette Katoto – Paris Saint Germain
Mariona Caldentey – Arsenal
Mayra Ramirez-Chelsea
Patricia Guijarro – Barcelona
Salma Paralluelo – Barcelona
Sjoeke Nusken – Chelsea
Sophia Smith – Portland Thorns
Tabitha Chawinga – Lyon
Tarciane – Houston Dash
Trinity Rodman-Washington Spirit
Yui Hasegawa – Manchester City

Why isn't Messi on the shortlist?

Last year, Messi became the first MLS player to win the Ballon d'Or after leading Argentina to the 2022 World Cup title.

He enjoyed further international success this year, captaining Argentina to the Copa America title in July and starring in a record-breaking regular season for Inter Miami – but he failed to make the top 30 shortlist.

There are several reasons for this. First, the people who compiled the men's shortlist – editorial staff from France Football and the French sports newspaper L'Equipe, last year's “best judge” (Costa Rica for the men's award) and a UEFA ambassador (Luis Figo) believed – that other players performed better than the former Barcelona star.

Messi's stats aren't too bad for the period in question – August 1, 2023 to July 31, 2024 – but an injury has severely reduced his playing time. During this 12-month spell, Messi scored 22 goals and provided 13 assists in all competitions for Inter Miami, helping his team win the 2024 Supporters' Shield.

But the quality of the MLS is widely considered to be worse than that of Europe's biggest leagues, which would have contributed significantly to the 37-year-old Messi's exit. Simply put, others played more and performed better in tougher leagues.

Messi's performances at the World Cup in Qatar secured him his eighth Ballon d'Or, but he was unable to repeat that form at this year's Copa America, registering just two goal contributions (a goal and an assist) before scoring in the 66th minute of the Finals was replaced due to injuries. Messi was named the 2021 Copa America player of the tournament as Argentina won the tournament for the first time in 28 years. However, this year the award went to Colombian James Rodriguez, who is also not on the shortlist.

Is there anything else we should know?

Top tip: If you want to win a Ballon d'Or, you shouldn't be a goalkeeper. In its 67-year history, only one goalkeeper, Lev Yashin, has won it. There has been its own award since 2019: In addition to the Ballon d'Or, France Football has also created the Yashin Trophy for the best-performing goalkeeper. The owner is Emiliano Martinez from Aston Villa.

Other awards on offer this evening include:

Men

Kopa Trophy (best player under 21)
Gerd Müller Trophy (best goalscorer last season)
Club of the Year Trophy.
Coach of the Year Trophy.

Women

Coach of the Year

(Top photo: Franck Fife/AFP via Getty Images)