Which are the two Argentine National Team players nominated for the Ballon d'Or?

The prestigious magazine France Football unveiled the 30 players who will opt for the Ballon d'Or, chosen according to the vote of 180 journalists from around the world. The great news is that Argentines Lionel Messi, the top winner in history with six trophies, and Lautaro Martínez, for the first time, are on the payroll.

Lautaro Martínez, emerged from the lower ranks of Racing, had a great season with Inter, who returned to be champion of Serie A after eleven years, and in which he scored 17 goals, in addition to a goal in the Italian Cup and another in the Champions League. The '10' of the Milan cast formed a fearsome pair with Romelu Lukaku, today in Chelsea, who scored another 24 in the league. This season he accumulates the best start of his career, with five goals in six games.

While his level at Inter was growing, the Bull began to pay with goals also in the Argentine National Team. Since the arrival of Lionel Scaloni, no other player, not even Messi, has scored more goals than him. He has 15 goals since his debut in 2018 and four of them were in 2021: three in the Copa América, where the Albiceleste became champions against Brazil at the Maracana, and the remaining one in the South American Qualifiers.

On the other hand, the Brazilian Neymar, twice third in the award, the French Kylian Mbappé, the Uruguayan Luis Suárez and the Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo, with five distinctions, also make up the list.