Lionel Messi ignored Jude Bellingham when naming the players he thinks will challenge for the next Ballon d’Or.

Lionel Messi has named players he feels could be in the mix to win the next Ballon d’Or but Jude Bellingham has been overlooked.

Messi received his eighth Ballon d’Or in Paris in October, after being voted the best male player in the world by 100 journalists from leading FIFA countries. He surpassed Erling Haaland and former PSG teammate Kylian Mbappe to win the award, becoming the second oldest recipient at age 36.

Obviously Messi will not be able to stay at the top forever, the Argentine star is on the other side of his career and is currently playing for Inter Miami in MLS. As the player with the most Golden Balls in history, Messi has had his say on which players will be selected for the Golden Ball in the coming years as the football world enters a new era. .

He praised the two men below him in the top three this year, and also named Real Madrid and Brazil star Vinicius Jr. There’s also a special mention for Barcelona’s 16-year-old idol Lamine Yamal, who is Spain’s youngest goalscorer ever and looks to have a future. bright ahead.

According to L’Equipe, Messi said: “Which players will compete for the Golden Ball in the coming years? There could be a very nice competition in the coming years with players like Haaland, Mbappe, Vinicius.”

Messi added: “I also think that Lamine Yamal, who is still very young and currently plays for Barcelona, ​​will also play a prominent role and fight for it in the future, and there will definitely be other people compete for it, the new players we have. I don’t know what will appear, because there are always new players, and I think this will be a very beautiful era to enjoy.

What is surprising is that Bellingham is not in Messi’s thoughts despite winning the Kopa Trophy and ranking 18th on the Ballon d’Or rankings. The 20-year-old has had an incredible start to life at Real, scoring 20 goals.