Khadija Shaw on Ballon d’Or list

KHADIJA SHAW is still in the running for the Ballon d'Or after the list was cut to 30.

Shaw has been racking up accolades after she scored 21 goals from 18 appearances for Manchester City in the Women's Super League (WSL) last season.

The tally, one more than the 20 goals she notched in the 2022-23 season, still brought her the golden boot, an award for which she was second to England and Aston Villa striker Rachel Daly.

A broken foot brought Shaw's season to a slightly early close, but she still dominated the English awards scene, logging the PFA Players' Player of the Year and the Football Writers' Association Women's Footballer of the Year nods.

Shaw is the first black woman to claim the two nods.

The powerful striker is joined by Manchester City teammates Yui Hasegawa and Lauren Hemp, and last year's winner Aitana Bonmati.

Shaw, who has spent the last two and a half seasons with Manchester City, is the club's all-time leading goalscorer, achieving the feat in March after netting her 68th goal in 81 appearances.

She now has 72 goals for the club.

In the meantime, Lionel Messi, considered by many as the greatest football player of all time, was omitted from the list of men's nominations.

The record eight-time winner and holder of the trophy did not feature yesterday in a list of 30 players in the running for the award.

Also excluded was Messi's great rival, five-time winner Cristiano Ronaldo. It was the first time since 2003 that neither player made the list.

Vinicius Junior, Rodri, Jude Bellingham, Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland and Harry Kane are among the names nominated.