Ballon d’Or: Nigeria’s Lookman outshines Palmer, Williams, Saka, Rice, 12 others
Ademola Lookman
Published By: Kazeem Ugbodaga
By Kazeem Ugbodaga
Nigerian international Ademola Lookman secured the 14th spot in voting for the Men’s Ballon d’Or, ranking above notable players including Cole Palmer, Nico Williams, Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice, and 12 others.
Manchester City’s Rodri clinched the Ballon d’Or, with Vinicius Junior of Real Madrid and Brazil coming in second, while England’s Jude Bellingham, also from Real Madrid, secured third place.
The final rankings, released by the organisers, showed Lookman, who plays for Atalanta, placing 14th. Spain’s Nico Williams followed closely in 15th, with Granit Xhaka in 16th.
Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka was ranked 21st, trailed by Antonio Rudiger and Ruben Dias. Chelsea’s William Saliba came 24th, with teammate Palmer and Arsenal’s Declan Rice placing 25th and 26th respectively.
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Lookman’s rise to the top 15 was fueled by his impressive season, where he netted 11 goals for Atalanta in Serie A. On 22 May 2024, he marked a historic achievement by scoring his first career hat-trick in the Europa League final at Dublin Arena, leading Atalanta to a 3-0 victory over Bayer Leverkusen and securing the club’s first European trophy. This feat made him the first player since Pierino Prati in 1969 to score a hat-trick in a single-leg Men’s European final.
Lookman’s Ballon d’Or nomination on 4 September 2024 came not only for his contributions to Atalanta’s UEFA Europa League win but also his role in Nigeria’s journey to the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations final.
His critical goals included both strikes in Nigeria’s 2-0 round-of-16 win over Cameroon and the lone goal in their 1-0 quarter-final victory over Angola. Though Nigeria narrowly lost the final 2-1 to Ivory Coast, Lookman and his teammates were honoured with the Member of the Order of the Niger for their outstanding performance.
Lookman is a versatile and explosive winger with a dynamic style of play. He is known for his direct, pacey runs at the opposition defense, causing problems with his quick feet and close control.
