Argentine football superstar Lionel Messi was not among the nominees for the Ballon d’Or for the first time as the list that was revealed Friday included Robert Lewandowski, Karim Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo and Mohamed Salah. France Football magazine announced on their website the 30 players vying for the prestigious award in 2022. Also known as Golden Ball Award, the Ballon d’Or is given to the sport’s best player. Messi, 35, a Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) forward, has won the award a record seven times, including in 2021.

But the former Barcelona player was not been nominated for the award for the first time since 2005. Like Messi, another PSG star, Neymar, from Brazil was also left off the ballot. But Manchester United forward Ronaldo, Barcelona’s Lewandowski, Real Madrid’s Benzema and Liverpool winger Salah were among the other nominees. Portuguese veteran Ronaldo, 37, is a five-time winner in 2008, 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017.

The Ballon d’Or ceremony will be held Oct. 17 at Paris’ Theatre du Chatelet.

– 30 nominees for men’s award

Thibaut Courtois, Vinicius Junior, Casemiro, Karim Benzema, Luka Modric, Antonio Rudiger (Real Madrid), Rafael Leao, Mike Maignan (AC Milan), Christopher Nkunku (RB Leipzig), Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Luis Diaz, Fabinho, Darwin Nunez, Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool), Joshua Kimmich, Sadio Mane (Bayern Munich), Bernardo Silva, Riyad Mahrez, Phil Foden, Kevin De Bruyne, Joao Cancelo, Erling Haaland (Manchester City), Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona), Son Heung-min, Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur), Sebastien Haller (Borussia Dortmund), Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United), Dusan Vlahovic (Juventus), Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain)

– “Trophee Yachine” (Best Goalkeeper)

Yassine Bounou (Sevilla), Alisson Becker (Liverpool), Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid), Ederson (Manchester City), Mike Maignan (AC Milan), Edouard Mendy (Chelsea), Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid), Kevin Trapp (Eintracht Frankfurt), Hugo Lloris (Tottenham Hotspur)