Real Madrid stars Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappé join NWSL standout Sophia Smith as players nominated for the 2024 Ballon d'Or and the Ballon d'Or Feminin.

The nominees for the women's and men's trophies were announced on Wednesday.

This marks Mbappé's seventh nomination for the award. He ranked third in voting for the 2023 men's award won by Argentinian star Lionel Messi.

Smith was one of five U.S. women's national team members nominated for the award. She joins U.S. Olympic gold medal winners Mallory Swanson, Trinity Rodman, Alyssa Naeher and Lindsey Horan on the list.

The Ballon d'Or evaluates player accomplishments that took place between Aug. 1, 2023 and July 31. The winners of the trophies will be announced Oct. 28 in Paris.

Messi, who picked up the trophy for a record eight times last fall, and five-time winner Cristiano Ronaldo were not nominated for the award for the first time in 21 years.

Vinicius Junior helped lead Real Madrid to victory in La Liga, the Champions League and the Supercopa de España during the 2023-24 campaign.

He told CNN's Zayn Nabbi and Darren Lewis that he is inspired by Brazilian soccer legends including Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Marta, Rivaldo and Kaká to add his name to the list of Ballon d'Or winners.

Mbappé meanwhile said after signing with Real Madrid this summer that "there is no better place to win titles" than his new club. For now, he will have the opportunity to win his first Ballon d'Or with his final campaign with Paris Saint-Germain, during which he helped power the club to a Ligue 1 title.

A third Real Madrid player is in contention for the award in Jude Bellingham, who played a key part in the club's Champions League win and helped power England to the final of Euro 2024.

The three Los Blancos stars will have to compete with Manchester City star Rodri, who helped City to a Premier League title and Spain to defeat Bellingham and England in the Euro final.

On the women's side, Aitana Bonmati followed up her 2023 trophy win by helping lead Barcelona to Champions League victory.

She joins Mariona Caldentey, Patricia Guijarro, Salma Paralluelo and Alexia Putellas as one of the five Spanish players nominated for the award after helping their country win the 2023 World Cup.

Bonmati will now look to hold on to the trophy despite a push from American standouts including Smith, who contributed to the United States' Olympic and Concacaf W Gold Cup in addition to starring for the NWSL's Portland Thorns.

Smith, who was also a finalist for the 2023 NWSL MVP award, will hope to become the first USWNT player to win the award since Megan Rapinoe claimed the women's Ballon d'Or in 2019.