Lancaster-born football star Scott McTominay has been nominated the sport’s most prestigious individual prize, the Ballon d’Or.
The nomination announced on Thursday afternoon caps off a stunning first season in Italy for the Scotland international, who scored a spectacular overhead kick for Napoli as they won the Scudetto with a 2-0 win over Cagliari, with his 12th goal of the season capping off a campaign that saw him named Italy’s Serie A's Most Valuable Player (MVP) for 2024-25.
The title is the third honour for the 28-year-old midfielder, who went to St Wilfrid's Primary School in Halton and Our Lady's in Lancaster. He previously won the FA Cup and EFL Cup at Manchester United, for whom he played 178 times in the Premier League.
Scott had been with United for over 20 years before moving to Italy last summer for a fee of £25.7m.
The winner is to be announced at the annual ceremony on September 22.
The Ballon d'Or is a prestigious football award presented annually by France Football magazine to the best male and female players in the world. The trophy is a golden football, crafted from brass and plated with 18-carat gold.
Previous recipients include some of game’s biggest ever players including Lionel Messi. Christiano Ronaldo and Johan Cruyff.
The last British winner was Michael Owen in 2001.
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