Liverpool SHOCKED by Ballon d'Or SNUB

The 2024 Ballon d’Or awards ceremony will take place on 28 October and the 30-man shortlist for the award has now been revealed.

The ceremony is held every year and is hosted by France Football. The Ballon d’Or award recognises the best player in the world from the previous season and is considered to be one of the most prestigious individual awards in football.

However, for the first time since 2016, not a single Liverpool player has been shortlisted.

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No Liverpool inclusions in the Ballon d’Or shortlist

The absence of Anfield representatives has come as a surprise, given the Reds had a fairly successful last campaign under Jurgen Klopp by  finishing third in the Premier League, reaching the quarter-finals of the Europa League and the FA Cup, and winning the League Cup for a record 10th time.

This is also the first time since 2017 that Liverpool talisman Mohamed Salah hasn’t made the shortlist.

Last season Salah was the only Liverpool player to make the shortlist and he finished 11th in the eventual outcome, with Lionel Messi going on to win the award for a record eighth time.

The last time that Salah wasn’t ranked among the world's top 30 players, Liverpool still had two representatives, Sadio Mané and Philippe Coutinho, on the shortlist.

This year there will be no Liverpool representation at all, despite the Reds enjoying a much better season that they did in 2022/23, when they finished trophyless and in fifth place in the league.

Liverpool’s previous Ballon d’Or winners

Michael Owen is the only player to have won the Ballon d'Or while playing for Liverpool, a feat he achieved at just 22 years old, but other Reds have also come close to winning the award.

Both Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres managed third-placed finishes, while current captain Virgil van Dijk was one of seven Liverpool players shortlisted in 2019, taking second place - only seven points behind winner Leo Messi.

Arne Slot’s Liverpool team have enjoyed an impressive start to the season and the new manager will be hoping to see some of his men on the Ballon d’Or shortlist this time next year.