Super Eagles forward Ademola Lookman was ranked in 14th place for the 2024 Ballon d’Or, Afrosport reports.
The Atalanta forward made history when he scored a hat-trick in their 3-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen in the UEFA Europa League final, becoming the first player to achieve such feat in the competition’s history as well as helping La Dea to their first-ever European title.
He also scored three times as Nigeria finished as runners-up at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in the Ivory Coast.
Lookman was nominated as the only African in the 30-man list, and his 14th-place finish, puts him ahead of players like Nico Williams (15th), Granit Xhaka (16th), Federico Valverde (17th) and Bukayo Saka (21st).
Ranked at the 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 is the eighth Nigerian to be nominated for the prestigious award after Finidi George (1995), Daniel Amokachi (1995), Austin Jay-Jay Okocha (1995), Nwankwo Kanu (1996, 1999), Victor Ikpeba (1997), Sunday Oliseh (1998) and Victor Osimhen (2023).
