Nigeria’s Ademola Lookman has been ranked 14th in the 2023 Ballon d’Or awards, held in Paris, France.
The Atalanta forward narrowly missed joining Victor Osimhen as one of the only Nigerians to reach the top 10 in the Ballon d’Or awards, with Osimhen ranked 8th last year.
Lookman, however, is the only African player to have made the award nomination list this year.
Ranked in 14th place for the 2024 Men’s Ballon d’Or! @Alookman_ @Atalanta_BC @thenff #ballondor pic.twitter.com/G1cXMd1jT8
— Ballon d’Or (@ballondor) October 28, 2024
Lookman was in superb form as Atalanta clinched their first-ever European trophy last season, with the Nigerian netting a hat-trick in the Europa League final against Bayer Leverkusen.
He scored 17 goals and provided 11 assists overall for Atalanta last season.
The former Everton player also played a key role in the Super Eagles’ run to the final of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Côte d’Ivoire earlier this year.
He scored twice as the Nigerian team finished as runners-up in the tournament, losing 2-1 to the hosts in the final.
In the new season, Lookman has continued his impressive form, recording 5 goals and 3 assists so far, one of the goals coming in Nigeria’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Benin Republic.
Lookman has also been shortlisted by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for the 2024 African Footballer of the Year award.
This year’s Ballon d’Or list is dominated by players from the Spanish national team, who won Euro 2024 in the summer, and Real Madrid, who secured the UEFA Champions League title.
Spanish and Manchester City midfielder is a strong favourite to win the award this year.