Two shock names emerged in the race for the 2024 Ballon d’Or, according to reports in France.

Two shock names emerged in the race for the 2024 Ballon d’Or, according to reports in France.

For the first time in almost two decades, neither Cristiano Ronaldo nor Lionel Messi are in the conversation for the Ballon d’Or.

Indeed, the pair have won 13 Ballon d’Ors between them, with Messi having claimed eight, including last year’s edition, and Ronaldo on five.

But this year, with the duo in the twilight of their respective careers, a new generation of players is set to contest for football’s most lauded individual honour.

Real Madrid duo Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Jr have long been in the conversation for this year’s Ballon d’Or, with the former having starred in his first season with the La Liga giants, setting up the latter to score in the Champions League final.

Meanwhile, Manchester City’s Rodri is also thought to be among the leading contenders, having helped his club to a record fourth-successive Premier League title and won Spain’s record fourth European Championship title.

Martinez scored the winner in the Copa America final (Getty)

However, according to L’Equipe Argentina star Lautaro Martinez is also in contention for the Ballon d’Or, after scoring five goals in his six Copa America games, including the winner in Sunday’s final.

For Inter last term, Martinez also racked up 24 goals and provided six assists in 33 games for Inter, who claimed the Serie A title.

Meanwhile, the publication has also alleged that Dani Carvajal is in the running.

The right-back won his fourth La Liga title and his sixth Champions League crown at Real Madrid last season, scoring the opening goal in the latter’s final.

Carvajal was also a regular in the Spain team as they won Euro 2024, beating England 2-1 in the competition’s final.

Who wouldn’t know Taylor Swift! The pop icon has been setting the industry ablaze for more than the past decade, earning herself a reputation for being one of the most bankable performers out there. The Lover singer has lit the figurative stage alight time and again.

You don’t break so many records in the music world, overtaking greats like Elvis Presley when it comes to spending most weeks spent No. 1 on the Billboard album chart as a solo artist, without being that good. But our favorite star has made many mistakes along the way, including the time when she put Joe Jonas to shame on national television.

Taylor Swift did something in her teens that was “too much”

Taylor Swift regrets acting impulsively

Taylor Swift started young, releasing her first album (which was also named Taylor Swift) in 2006 when she was just a teen. Her song, Tim McGraw, set in course a streak of events that would make her a part of the elite circle of the music industry.

She was just a teen back then. And as we all know, teens have a penchant for making mistakes. The Look What You Made Me Do singer was no different. Years later, Swift had the chance to introspect on the mistakes that she made in those days.

The photo that triggered ‘rebel’ Taylor

The year is 2019. Taylor Swift finds herself on the sets of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, a show where she’s had some uncomfortable moments before. But the times had changed. So had she. Talk show host Ellen asked her what was the “most rebellious thing that she had done as a teenager”. She couldn’t help but remember another evening on the same set.

Answering the question, the Cardigan singer revealed that one of her most rebellious teenage moments was putting her ex at the time, Joe Jonas, on blast all the way back in 2008 leaving everyone in the studio, including the 65-year-old host, shocked.

Taylor Swift regrets putting Joe Jonas on the blast

Taylor Swift revealed how Joe Jonas left her

Back in 2008, a young Taylor Swift was not one to hold back when DeGeneres showed her a photo of herself along with her then ex-Joe Jonas. Tearing into the Sucker singer. On seeing their picture, she said, “It’s all right. I’m cool.”

She wasn’t. The 34-year-old continued,

“You know what? It’s like when I find that person that is right for me and he’ll be wonderful, and when I look at that person, I’m not even going to be able to remember the boy who broke up with me over the phone in 25 seconds when I was 18.” (The Ellen DeGeneres Show)
No one could contain themselves after this bombshell of a reveal. A decade down the line, the Grammy winner regretted her actions, saying,
“That was too much. Yeah, that was too much. I was 18. We laugh about it now. That was mouthy, yeah, teenage stuff there.”
Even Joe Jonas seems to have moved on. None of them are 18-year-olds now after all.