The 30 man list for the Ballon D’Or was recently released and it featured some of the prominent names from the world of football. Many stars deserved to make it to this list, though there were some who were not the best picks to be there. However, it is just the 30 man list and not the final one, which would mean that even 50-50 cases might at times be pushed through (giving them the benefit of the doubt).
Kane, Aguero, De Bruyne, Pogba, Hazard, Kante, Mane, Firmino, Salah were some of the big stars from the Premier League that made the list. Apart from Ronaldo (who move to Juventus) and Messi, stars like Benzema, Bale, Isco, Modric, Griezmann, Suarez, Rakitic and more made it from the La Liga. Along with them, defenders like Ramos, Varane, Marcelo and Godin also were part of the 30 names.
On the other hand, keepers like Alisson, Oblak, Courtois, and Lloris were all included. Other top names like Mbappe, Cavani, Neymar, Mandzukic were also part of the list.
However, as mentioned earlier, though some of them were merely included in the list to be fillers, one man who deserves to win it this year more than many others, but might not is Antoine Griezmann.
Not just did the 27 year old French forward help Atletico Madrid win the Europa League last term, he was responsible for France lifting the World Cup and also winning the UEFA Super Cup after that. This was just another accolade that he added to the various titles that he has with the club and it seems that his contribution might once again be ignored.
He scored 19 goals with 9 assists to his name for Diego Simeone’s side last term in the top flight of Spanish football. He also picked up six goals in seven appearances, along with a couple of assists in the Europa League, a tournament that they ended up winning.
While everyone has been praising how good Giroud has been for then national team, despite the fact that he did not score a single goal at the World Cup or how Mbappe was the best thing ever to happen to France, the attacker was overshadowed once again. He scored 4 goals at the tournament in Russia and was instrumental in the creative play as well (while everyone spoke about Hazard, Lukaku and Kane).
He earned crucial free-kicks and delivered some lovely crosses, claiming a couple of assists as well. Despite that, it seems that his contribution both at the club and country level might not earn him a Ballon D’Or once again, with the likes of Messi and Ronaldo, who don’t really deserve it, taking home the trophy.
Another individual who might be taking home the trophy this year is Modric, though when it comes to a World Cup winner and a finalist, whom do you think did better? The Real Madrid man was invisible for Croatia after the group stages and it was Ivan Perisic’s contributions and Subasic’s heroics that even took them to the finals.
If Modric wins the Ballon D’Or, there will be no doubt in my mind that this is nothing more than a lame marketing strategy, where they try to sell a brand to the fans. There have been quite a few instances in the past already where both Ronaldo and Messi did not deserve to win it, but the likes of Ribery and Neuer were just overshadowed, which was really pathetic.
Hopefully, the best man wins this time. The actual best, that is!!
