5 youngest players to feature on the Ballon d'Or shortlist in the 21st century

#3 Lionel Messi (2006 - 19 years & 157 days)

Lionel Messi has won the Ballon d'Or a record six times.

Arguably the greatest player to have graced the game, Lionel Messi has dominated the Ballon d'Or award alongside Cristiano Ronaldo. Messi has won the award a record six times and is one of the youngest players this century to have been nominated for this prestigious award.

Lionel Messi had a breakout campaign in 2005-06 for Barcelona, when he was first nominated for the Ballon d'Or award at the age of 19. Although he had made his Barcelona debut the previous season, the said campaign saw Messi score eight goals and record five assists in 25 appearances in all competitions. That helped Barcelona clinch the La Liga and Champions League titles, although Messi missed the latter part of the season due to injury.

Nevertheless, Messi earned a spot in the Ballon d'Or shortlist in 2006, where he finished 20th, before finally clinching the award in 2009. Since then, Messi has won the Ballon d'Or five more times, despite fierce competition from Ronaldo.

Messi has made 778 appearances for Barcelona in all competitions, scoring 672 goals and registering 305 assists. He has won numerous individual and club trophies and recently won the Copa America with Argentina.

The Argentine is currently out of contract, but is likely to be offered a contract extension by Barcelona, where Messi has played all his career.

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#2 Wayne Rooney (2004 - 19 years and 51 days)

Wayne Rooney was also nominated alongside Cristiano Ronaldo for the 2004 Ballon d'Or award.

Wayne Rooney was one of the youngsters alongside Cristiano Ronaldo to be nominated for the 2004 Ballon d'Or award.

Rooney rose to prominence following his exploits at Euro 2004. Despite being only 18, the Englishman scored four goals and registered an assist before England were knocked out by Portugal in the quarter-final.

The Englishman also had a brilliant campaign with Everton in the 2003-04 season, playing 40 games in all competitions, scoring nine goals. That attracted interest from a host of Premier League clubs before Manchester United snapped him up in the summer of 2004.

Rooney has had a spectacular career with Manchester United, playing 559 games, scoring 253 goals and providing 146 assists. However, Rooney has never been able to make the Ballon d'Or top three, his best finish being fifth in the 2011 Ballon d'Or race.

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#1 Kylian Mbappe (2017 - 18 years and 353 days)

Kylian Mbappe is the youngest player ever to be nominated for the Ballon d'Or award.

The youngest player to ever be nominated for the Ballon d'Or award is none other than Paris Saint Germain and France sensation Kylian Mbappe.

Mbappe burst onto the scene in 2017 at AS Monaco, where he contributed a staggering tally of 40 goals in just 44 appearances, helping them win the Ligue 1 title ahead of cash-rich PSG.

The youngster broke several records with Monaco that season, scoring 18 goals in as many consecutive games while becoming the youngest player in Europe's top five leagues to score at least 14 league goals in a season in the 21st century. Moreover, Mbappe also became the youngest player to score five goals in a Champions League season.

Kylian Mbappe subsequently moved to PSG the next season, where he has flourished alongside Brazilian superstar Neymar.

The youngster came under heavy criticism recently after his performances at Euro 2020, where he missed the deciding penalty in the shootout against Switzerland, which sent France packing out of the tournament. Still only 22, Kylian Mbappe has a long career ahead of him and is touted by many experts as a future Ballon d'Or winner.