Nigeria and Atalanta star, Ademola Lookman, has been ranked 14th in the list of Best Players of 2024 at the Ballon d’Or award ceremony held in Paris, France.
The Super Eagles forward enjoyed a stellar 2023-24 season, scoring a historic hat-trick to help Atalanta win the Europa League title at the expense of Bayer Leverkusen.
That, along with more eye-catching performances in Serie A and with the Super Eagles, has seen the 27-year-old’s stock rise sharply in the last year – enough to finish above the following players:
Cole Palmer – 25th
Chelsea’s talisman has continued to enjoy a rich vein of form with the Blues and is considered the main hub for all things good that happens on the pitch with the Blues.
However, his form in the Premier League, as well as reaching the EFL Cup final last season, was not enough to see him rank higher than Lookman at the Ballon d’Or.
Bukayo Saka – 21st
The Arsenal and England man starred for club and country last season, being part of the core that saw the Gunners finish second in the league and the Three Lions make it to the Euro 2024 final.
Nico Williams – 15th
The Athletic Bilbao star was a top performer in La Liga last season, and carried the good form to the national team where he scored two crucial goals in the knock-out stages to help Spain to the title.
Martin Odegaard – 19th
The Arsenal captain was ever-present in Arsenal’s title challenge in the Premier League and run to the Champions League quarter-final.
Granit Xhaka – 16th
The Swiss midfielder is among the players Bayer Leverkusen manger, Xabi Alonso, puts first in the starting line-up, and Xhaka’s influence contributed to the club winning the Bundesliga and DFB Pokal, before losing the Europa League final to Lookman’s Atalanta.
Finishing ahead of these players can only see the Nigerian’s profile go even higher, and seeing as he is replicating similar form this season for club and country again, Ademola Lookman could find himself high on the Ballon d’Or list next year too.