{
  "id": 6361658,
  "title": "Why Cristiano Ronaldo wasn’t nominated for the 2026 Ballon d’Or",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/08/why-cristiano-ronaldo-wasnt-nominated-for-the-2026-ballon-dor",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-08T23:37:49.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Times of India",
    "slug": "times-of-india",
    "url": "https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/football/top-stories/ronaldo-snubbed-again-why-al-nassrs-title-winning-talisman-wasnt-nominated-for-ballon-dor-despite-ending-7-year-trophy-drought/articleshow/133942649.cms"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "Cristiano Ronaldo has missed the Ballon d’Or shortlist for a fourth straight year despite scoring 28 Saudi league goals, winning the title with Al-Nassr and scoring three World Cup goals. His omission comes as Saudi-based teammates Sadio Mané and Julián Quiñones were nominated, raising questions over how voters weighed Ronaldo’s numbers against other criteria, narratives and competition level.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "BBC Sport Football",
        "title": "Russo and Greenwood nominated for Ballon d'Or",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/08/russo-and-greenwood-nominated-for-ballon-dor",
        "published": "2026-09-08T14:40:01.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "KahawaTungu",
        "title": "Lionel Messi Nominated for Ballon d’Or 2026",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/08/lionel-messi-nominated-for-ballon-dor-2026",
        "published": "2026-09-08T15:17:39.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}