The nominees for this year’s Ballon d’Or were announced yesterday; they revealed the men’s award candidates in six groups of five players on Twitter.
Among the expected nominees were Lionel Messi and Erling Haaland. However, some prominent players were left out. Cristiano Ronaldo’s absence from the list attracted a lot of attention.
Regardless of personal opinions, it remains the coveted dream of every footballer worldwide. Following the remarkable and unique 2022–23 season. Here are some of the big names not included in the shortlist:
Marc-Andre ter Stegen
The 31-year-old, who doesn’t get enough credit, had an amazing season last year, as the statistics show.
He played in all 38 of Barcelona’s matches when they won La Liga, and he only let in 18 goals. Ter Stegen also had the most clean sheets in Europe across all competitions (28) and an impressive 75 percent save rate.
Marcus Rashford
It’s quite strange that Marcus Rashford wasn’t considered for the Ballon d’Or despite his impressive performance last season. Only six players were more involved in goals across all competitions (39) than Rashford, and they all made the Ballon d’Or shortlist.
Even players right below him, like Lautaro Martinez, Kevin De Bruyne, Harry Kane, and Karim Benzema, were nominated.
Last season, Rashford really stepped up his game under Ten Hag at Manchester United. He scored a total of 30 goals and provided nine assists.
He also performed exceptionally well for England at the World Cup, scoring three goals during the tournament. It is so sad that he was not included.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo has been scoring since coming to Saudi Arabia. But surprisingly, he hasn’t been nominated for the Ballon d’Or for the first time since 2003. It’s a big change, and Ronaldo might not be happy about it, even though he probably will be.
When Erik Ten Hag became the manager of Manchester United, he realised that the team performed better without Ronaldo in the starting lineup so he removed the five-time ballon d’or winner from his team.
Ronaldo’s performance was also very poor at the World Cup, but it remains unknown to everyone why he was not included
Neymar
Neymar was expected to be a big star, collecting the awards back to back. He was seen as the successor to Lionel Messi, both at Barcelona and as the best player in the world. But things took a different turn when he moved to Paris Saint-Germain, and now he’s on the bench in Saudi Arabia, pondering his choices and probably regretting how his career has unfolded.
What’s even sadder is that it wasn’t surprising that Neymar wasn’t nominated this year. In the 2022–23 season, he struggled with injuries on the field and had personal issues off it.
This led Paris Saint-Germain to happily transfer him to Al-Hilal in the summer. It’s telling that their new coach, Luis Enrique, who had achieved great success with Neymar at Barcelona, didn’t want him on the team.
John Stones
John Stones faced injury problems last season, which might explain why he didn’t play as many games. However, when it really mattered, Stones was undeniably one of Manchester City’s top five key players as they aimed for a treble.
In fact, one could argue whether Manchester City would have achieved such remarkable success if Pep Guardiola hadn’t cleverly moved the English centre-back into midfield during the 2022-23 season.
Casemiro
Casemiro had a solid performance last season, although it may not have been up to his usual high standards before he joined Manchester United. However, he performed well for Brazil during the World Cup.
His situation isn’t helped by the fact that he’s playing in an unbalanced Manchester United midfield.
It’s important to note that Ballon d’Or voting considers performances from the previous season.
In the 2022-23 season, Casemiro was exceptional for Manchester United, and his arrival from Real Madrid significantly impacted Erik ten Hag’s team.
