The shortlist of 30 nominees for the 2016 Ballon d’Or has been announced, but it doesn’t include two of the Premier League’s best players over the past year
The best players in the world have been included in the 30-man shortlist for the Ballon d’Or award. The three favourites for the award are believed to be Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann, but the list also includes the likes of Gareth Bale, Neymar, Gianluigi Buffon, Thomas Muller and many others.
The Premier League is represented by two of the reigning Champions’ guiding lights in Leicester city duo Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez, two of Man City’s best in Sergio Aguero and Kevin de Bruyne, ‘keeper Hugo Lloris of Tottenham and French sensation Dimitri Payet of West Ham United.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Paul Pogba also make the list, but mostly because of their performances before joining Manchester United with PSG and Juventus respectively. However, there have been two glaring omissions from the list which will irk Arsenal and Manchester United fans.
The master of assists, Mesut Ozil misses out
The German play maker was one of the driving forces behind Arsenal’s title challenge last season. He recorded 19 assist and six goals in the Premier League in 2015-16, coming very close to the league record of 20 set by Gunners legend Thierry Henry in 2002-03.
It isn’t just the assists and goals, the former Real Madrid midfielder bossed the midfield and regularly pulled off breathtaking pieces of skill. A lot of Arsenal’s attacking play flows though him and he adds his own flair and style to proceedings.
Ozil has evolved into a key player for the Gunners and is in the prime of his career. He is definitely among the top 5 players currently playing in the Premier League. Yet, the 28-year-old has been snubbed for the Ballon d’Or shortlist in a decision that will not sit right with Gooners.
Instead Atletico Madrid’s Koke and Real Madrid duo Luka Modric and Toni Kroos are among the top play-makers in the list.
One of the best goalkeepers in the world not in the top 30
Spanish goalkeeper David de Gea has made it his business to bail Manchester United out of trouble whenever they are under threat. He has been hailed as the saviour of Old Trafford, and has displayed phenomenal shot-stopping skills.
The 25-year-old narrowly missed out on the Golden Glove award last season. He had 15 clean sheets in 34 appearances, one short of the winner, Petr Cech.
De Gea’s most recent brilliance came against Liverpool, where he pulled off an awe inspiring save to deny Philippe Coutinho. This is nothing new of course, as the Spaniard has won the Man United player of the year award for three seasons in a row now.
In fact he is now considered to be one of the best goalkeepers in the world, only behind German international and Bayern Munich keeper Manuel Neuer. However, it seems like France Football doesn’t concur, they haven’t even included him in their 30-man shortlist for the Ballon d’Or award.
Instead, Italian legend Gianluigi Buffon and Portugal’s European Championship winning goalkeeper Rui Patricio join Neuer on the prestigious list. It is a glaring omission though, and one wonders whether the criteria for selection is only trophies won, rather than individual brilliance.
