Sorry to say but mere nominations mean very little. It is anything but an objective list.
During my own footballing carrier I had been nominated for the Ballon D'or three times, and the best ranking I got was the 9th place.
I don't even remember the other two, and the nomination in itself was nothing extraordinary, specially that we all knew who the winner will be.
I guess sometimes it is even worse if you get nominated but finally you get a 9th or a 32nd place.
Winning it yes, it has a merit indeed, but being a mere nominee means little to nothing.