It’s that time of year when the nominations for the Ballon d’Or are announced, and this year saw a real shock.
For the first time since 2003 – twenty one years ago – neither Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi found themselves in the final 30 names.
It was the first real sign that the two giants of the modern game are slowly easing towards their respective retirements, but it does open up the opportunity for others to lay their hands on the golden ball.
No Messi or Ronaldo in Ballon d’Or final 30
As ever, the list of names will be dissected and pored over with a multitude of differing opinions as to who is more deserving.
Should a European Cup win or a title with your international team count for anything? Perhaps a record breaking season in terms of goals scored puts a player at the top of the list?
Now that the list is out, the 30 names are there to choose from, and Fabrizio Romano believes that there’s three glaring omissions from the final list.
“I won’t comment on my favourite candidate for this year’s award, but in general I think it was a fair list,” he said to CaughtOffside for his exclusive Daily Briefing.
“It’s almost an impossible job to narrow down the names and I’d have probably added Rodrygo, Xavi Simons and Frimpong.
“Rodrygo has even gone on social media already to show his feelings about his omission.
There are some big names in the final 30: Jude Bellingham, Ruben Dias, Phil Foden, Federico Valverde, Emiliano Martinez, Erling Haaland, Nico Williams, Granit Xhaka, Artem Dovbyk, Toni Kroos, Vinicius Jr., Dani Olmo, Florian Wirtz, Martin Odegaard, Mats Hummels, Rodri, Harry Kane, Declan Rice, Vitinha, Cole Palmer, Dani Carvajal, Lamine Yamal, Bukayo Saka, Hakan Calhanoglu, William Saliba, Kylian Mbappe, Lautaro Martinez, Ademola Lookman, Toni Rudiger and Alejandro Grimaldo.”
The gala for the awards, which will also include the naming of Coach of the Year, Team of the Year, Goalkeeper of the Year and winner of the Kopa Trophy, will take place in October.
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