Football megastar Lionel could yet add another Ballon d’Or trophy to his collection after returning among the nominees for the award on Tuesday.

Messi, the all-time winner with eight trophies, returns after missing out on nominations for consecutive years (2024 & 2025 for the first time since his first nod in 2006.

The 39-year-old, who recently retired from the national team, makes the list after a sensational World Cup where he broke the scoring record multiple times on his way to his second consecutive tournament final. Missing out on back-to-back titles following a 1-0 loss to eventual champions Spain.

There were already talks about Messi being favoured for what was coined the “Super Ballon d’Or” had his Argentina retained the trophy along with his performance with Inter Miami.

However, given his return with among a strong list which includes Kylian Mbappe, Harry Kane, current holder Ousmane Dembele, World Cup winner Lamine Yamal, along with Vinicius Jr. The possibility still exists that he may have yet done enough yet to earn a surprise record-extending ninth.