Cristiano Ronaldo missed out on a Ballon d’Or nomination for the first time since 2003, falling out of France Football’s 30-man shortlist for the most prestigious individual honor in world football Wednesday.

Erling Haaland and Lionel Messi are the top contenders for the award after achieving career milestones over the last 12 months. Haaland won a continental treble in his first season with Manchester City, scoring 52 goals while breaking the Premier League’s single-season scoring record. Messi powered Argentina to a shootout victory over France in the World Cup final and captured the only major trophy that had eluded him in his career. With six goals and a tournament-high three assists, the 36-year-old also won the Golden Ball as the World Cup’s best player.

Messi is vying for a record-extending eighth Ballon d’Or. The winner will be announced during a ceremony on Oct. 30 at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris.

Kylian Mbappe singlehandedly dragged France back into the aforementioned World Cup final with a historic hat-trick and earned a leading nomination despite failing to win the Champions League with Paris Saint-Germain. Napoli’s top scorer, Victor Osimhen, and breakout star Khvicha Kvaratskhelia also feature on the list. Napoli won their first Serie A title in 33 years thanks in large part to Osimhen and Kvaratskhelia, who combined to score 38 goals.

2023 Men’s Ballon d’Or nominees

2023 Women’s Ballon d’Or nominees

First awarded in 2018, the Ballon d’Or Feminin will go to a first-time recipient this year. None of the previous winners have been short-listed, with inaugural recipient Ada Hegerberg and two-time winner Alexia Putellas missing time through injury and U.S. star Megan Rapinoe nearing retirement.

Four players from Spain’s Women’s World Cup-winning squad – including Aitana Bonmati, the tournament’s best player, and Olga Carmona, whose goal won the final – lead the 30-strong list. Spanish players Patricia Guijarro and Mapi Leon are also vying for the award after helping Barcelona win the Women’s Champions League.

Kopa Trophy nominees

Previous winners Gavi and Pedri are up again for the Kopa Trophy.

Awarded to the game’s best player under 21, the prize could fall into Gavi or Pedri’s hands for a second time. The two midfielders helped Barcelona win La Liga for the first time in the post-Messi era. Jude Bellingham, who’s scored five goals for Real Madrid since joining them in a €100-million deal, will likely rival the Spanish duo.

Yachine Trophy nominees

Named after iconic goalkeeper Lev Yashin, the Yachine Trophy goes to the game’s top netminder. Thibaut Courtois – who won the award in 2022 on the heels of his heroic Champions League performances – earns another nomination. Emiliano Martinez is a leading contender, having made a number of key saves during Argentina’s World Cup-winning campaign.

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Saudi Arabian champion Al-Ittihad and its star striker Karim Benzema avoided Manchester City in the semifinals draw Tuesday for the first FIFA Club World Cup to be hosted by the kingdom.

The Dec. 12-22 tournament for continental champions and the host nation’s league winner will be played in Al-Ittihad’s home city Jeddah – the latest statement of Saudi ambitions in global soccer including aiming to host the men’s World Cup in 2034.

The event will be the last Club World Cup in the current annual format before a 32-team version played every four years starts in June 2025. The inaugural host is the United States.

Al-Ittihad will open the seven-team tournament against Auckland City, the champion of Oceania.

The winner will advance to face African champion Al Ahly of Egypt in the second round for a place in the semifinals against the champion of South America. The Copa Libertadores is currently at the semifinals stage featuring Boca Juniors of Argentina and Brazilian clubs Palmeiras, Fluminense and Internacional.

Man City, as the champion of Europe, also gets direct entry to the semifinals and will play either Club Leon of Mexico or Urawa Red Diamonds of Japan.

The final on Dec. 22 will be played at the 62,000-seat King Abdullah Sports City, home of Al-Ittihad.

Al-Ittihad recruited three former Club World Cup winners in a lavish spending spree by clubs across the Saudi league since Benzema agreed to leave Real Madrid in June.

Benzema won the world club title five times with Madrid, including the last edition in February against a Saudi opponent. Benzema scored in a 5-3 win over Al Hilal that has since signed Neymar.

Benzema’s new club teammates include N’Golo Kante, who won the 2021 title with Chelsea, and Fabinho, who won with Liverpool in 2019.

Europe’s Champions League winner has won the Club World Cup in 15 of the past 16 editions. Only Chelsea lost in 2012 against Corinthians of Brazil.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino and Saudi soccer federation leader Yasser Almisehal, who is now a member of the ruling FIFA Council, attended the draw ceremony.

The tournament presenting sponsor is Visit Saudi, the tourism board that was resisted as a Women’s World Cup sponsor this year by co-hosts Australia and New Zealand.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Neymar claims he and Lionel Messi “lived through hell” during their time together at Paris Saint-Germain.

“I was very happy for the year he had, but at the same time very sad because he lived both sides of the coin,” Neymar told Globo’s Esporte Espetacular of the last of Messi’s two seasons with PSG, as translated by ESPN’s Adriana Garcia.

“He went to heaven with the Argentina team, won everything in recent years, and with Paris, he lived hell, we lived through hell, both he and I.”

Messi and Neymar both left the French capital this summer. The Argentine attacker moved to Inter Miami, where he’s helped the struggling club resurrect its Major League Soccer campaign, win the Leagues Cup, and reach the final of the U.S. Open Cup on Sept. 27. Neymar chased the riches of the Saudi Pro League after PSG approved his €90-million transfer to Al-Hilal.

Neymar’s interview for the Esporte Espetacular aired Sunday but was originally conducted in June, shortly after PSG’s 2022-23 campaign concluded with another Ligue 1 title but disappointing round-of-16 exits in the Champions League and Coupe de France.

The previous season – the first of Messi’s stay with PSG – ended in identical fashion: a Ligue 1 crown and last-16 eliminations from the Champions League and Coupe de France.

The Qatari owners’ target of European glory with a frontline of Messi, Neymar, and Kylian Mbappe never materialized. Meanwhile, Messi’s international assignments were much more fruitful between the summer of his move to PSG and his recent switch to the United States as Argentina won the Copa America, 2022 World Cup, and the lesser-known Finalissima.

Since moving to Inter Miami, Messi revealed he never wanted to join PSG and said there was a “fracture with a significant group” of the club’s supporters during his two years representing Les Parisiens.

Neymar, who partnered with Messi and Luis Suarez during a successful period at Barcelona, felt the level of criticism he and Messi faced from Paris Saint-Germain fans was unwarranted.

“We get upset because we’re not there for nothing, we’re there to do our best, (to) be champions, try to make history,” Neymar said.

“That’s why we started playing together again, we came together there so we could make history. Unfortunately, we didn’t make it.”