30 players have made it into the final selection for the prestigious Ballon d’Or. A few prominent names, however, did not.
In the end, it probably won’t make any difference. Because in all likelihood, world champion Lionel Messi and triple winner Erling Haaland will decide the Ballon d’Or between themselves. The award for “European Footballer of the Year” has already gone to the Norwegian, with the Argentine coming in second.
A few players who played a major role in last season’s Ballon d’Or, but whose names do not appear in the 30-man final selection, have to put up with a ranking that is probably beyond the realms of sporting appropriateness. Particularly surprising is the absence of a quartet of players.
For a few weeks at the start of the 2023 calendar year, Marcus Rashford was arguably the standout attacker in Europe, scoring at least once in almost every game for Manchester United. The Englishman led the Red Devils, who eliminated FC Barcelona among others, to the quarter-finals of the Europa League as well as back into the Champions League via third place in the league. 30 goals and eleven assists in a total of 56 competitive games were not enough for 30th place in the Ballon d’Or.
In a similar position at a similarly big club, Rafael Leao made a similar leap in performance. Milan’s high-speed dribbler scored 16 times in 48 games and set up 15 more goals, and as a standout attacker he lifted the Rossoneri to last season’s semi-finals and into the field of contenders for the upcoming top flight season. There was no place for him either.
CL winners Manchester City do feature seven players from pre-season – Josko Gvardiol (new signing from Leipzig) is also nominated – but two very crucial players did not make it into the top 30: defender John Stones, who not only shone defensively but was suddenly able to add to the Skyblues’ attacking game as a real tactical midfielder, and winger Jack Grealish, who arguably developed the most of all City professionals.
Three goalkeepers ahead of ter Stegen – low blow for CR7
A number of brilliant saves, the Spanish championship and a clean sheet in more than half of his 56 competitive games (29 times to nil): too little for Marc-André ter Stegen to make it to the final selection, which features three other goalkeepers in the shape of World Cup bronze medallist Bono (FC Sevilla, now Al-Hilal), World Cup winner Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa) and CL finalist André Onana (Inter Milan, now Manchester United). Ter Stegen, whose compatriot Toni Kroos (Real Madrid) was once again also passed over, is at least nominated for the Yashin Trophy.
The biggest name missing from the 30 nominees is that of Cristiano Ronaldo. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner (2008, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017) was not nominated for the first time since 2003. The period of the 2022/23 season was too weak from the Portuguese, who unattractively parted ways with Manchester United and started an avalanche-like trend with his move to Saudi Arabia. However, 31 goals so far in the 2023 calendar year is a good start for CR7 to be back next year.
