Ballon d'Or organizers ignore Messi

Argentine Lionel Messi, captain of Inter Miami, has not received an invitation to present an award at the Ballon d'Or ceremony scheduled for October 26 in London, and his attendance at the event remains uncertain .   Earlier reports had suggested Messi might present an award at the 70th edition of the ceremony, to be held at the London Palladium, possibly with family members in attendance. However, Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano refuted these reports . Romano wrote on his X platform that Messi will not be presenting any awards, explaining that the Argentine star has not received an invitation from the organizers to do so, and that his attendance is still unconfirmed . Despite the absence of an invitation to present awards, Messi remains among the 30 nominees vying for his ninth Ballon d'Or, which would further extend his record number of wins . The Inter Miami captain's nomination comes after a stellar year with the Argentine national team, where he scored eight goals and provided four assists in eight matches on their journey to the World Cup final.