The Saudi league exposed the contradiction: why was Ronaldo not nominated for the Ballon d'Or?

The list featured players from the Saudi Roshn League, but Ronaldo missed out. The two who made it were Senegal's Sadio Mane, his Al-Nassr team-mate, and Mexico's Julian Quinones, the Al-Qadsiah striker.

It's the fourth time in a row the Portuguese star has been left off the initial list of Ballon d'Or candidates.

That barren spell followed a remarkable one. For 18 years, Ronaldo never once dropped out of the initial list of contenders for the award.

Oddly enough, the slump set in after Ronaldo made the move to the Saudi league, joining Al-Nassr in January 2023 once his Manchester United contract had been torn up.

For some, the explanation lies in the standard of the Saudi Roshn League itself. Ronaldo has yet to land any major silverware with Al-Nassr, and the trophy drought extends to the international stage with Portugal too.

The strange thing is that Quiñones earned his first Ballon d'Or nomination after a debut season in which he finished the Saudi league's top scorer. Ronaldo never managed that, despite winning the same award twice.

Quiñones certainly shone at the 2026 World Cup, scoring 4 goals and providing one assist. Yet Ronaldo also scored 3 goals at the tournament before bowing out in the round of 16, the same stage at which Mexico were eliminated.

Domestically, Ronaldo outdid Quiñones at team level, leading Al-Nassr to the Saudi league title after a 7-year absence.

Nobody made a bigger impact on that triumph than the Portuguese star. He fired in 28 goals in the Roshn League, 5 behind Quiñones, who finished fourth with Al-Qadsiah.

Ronaldo was the driving force behind Al-Nassr's title triumph, yet the nomination went to his teammate Sadio Mane, who managed just 10 goals and 6 assists in the Roshn League last season.

Mane's international form with Senegal looks like the reason behind his selection. He fired them to the final of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, and to the title itself, before an administrative decision from the Confederation of African Football stripped them of it.

At the 2026 World Cup, though, Mane failed to score. He managed a single assist as the Lions of Teranga crashed out early in the round of 32.

Reaching a continental final and shining domestically was apparently enough to earn Mane a Ballon d'Or nomination. So why did Ronaldo miss out on one in 2025?

The Portuguese led his national team to the 2025 UEFA Nations League crown, finished as top scorer in the Saudi Roshn League, and drove Al-Nassr to third place behind Al-Ittihad and Al-Hilal.

None of it earned him a nomination. The question hangs in the air: why has Ronaldo been shut out of these lists ever since his move to the Saudi league?

Whatever happens, Ronaldo's place in Ballon d'Or history is secure, especially when it comes to nominations.

No player has been named on the initial shortlist more often than the Portuguese star. His 18 nominations put him one clear of his great Argentine rival Lionel Messi.

Italian defender Paolo Maldini sits third with 13, just ahead of the Dutchman Johan Cruyff, Germany's Franz Beckenbauer and France's Karim Benzema, who each have 12.