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There's got to be some kind of irony somewhere on how the midfielder - that most ubiquitous of footballing species - so often gets overlooked for the awards that matter. This may, in a large part, be due to the over-reliance of statistics and numbers based objectivity when it comes to the judging of said awards.
While no one should ever scoff at the importance of numbers, or the oft thrown about cliche that is "goals win you matches", what we should also not overlook is the fact that a team is more than just its forwards... take the best midfielders out of the equation and even the best forwards will struggle to find the back of the net.
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Keeping that in mind, here's a list of five midfielders who could have/should have challenged for the Ballon d'Or alongside those two this year
#5 Miralem Pjanic
The Bosnian created a furore in Rome when he left AS Roma for Juventus in the summer of 2016, but as 2017 progressed before our eyes, his decision was validated as he eased into the regista, or 'Pirlo', role with ease and quietly went about becoming the hub of Max Allegri's new look Juventus juggernaut.
Juventus' spectacular 2016-17 season, in which they came within winning a historic treble - having sewed up Coppa Italia and Seria A, the Bianconeri lost to Real Madrid in the final - and Pjanic's easy distribution and ability to set the tempo of the game were at the very heart of this run.
#4 Isco
Isco seemed to heading to the exit at the Santiago Bernabeu - another wasted talent that never could make it at arguably the most pressurized environment in football. But sometime last season, Gareth Bale's injury and Zinedine Zidane's faith sparked in him a revival that once again showed the world just how good a football player the little Spaniard was.
He was everywhere in the attacking third, creating chances with absurd ease as the pointy end of a midfield diamond - one with a free role, an even free-er role than Cristiano Ronaldo himself (goes to show just how important he is/was, eh?) - and generally taking Real Madrid's football to a whole new level as they completed their first League - Champions League double in half-a-century.
Oh, and he was half-decent for Spain too -
#3 Casemiro
Casemiro made Real Madrid tick.
What more of a reason do you need to include this man on the list?
As underrated as he is pivotal, the Brazilian's defensive solidity allowed the free-flowing attack and attack-minded midfield to function with ease - Modric, Kroos, Isco, Ronaldo, and Benzema all flew forward with the solid belief that someone had their back at all times... and as those two glittering titles that lie in Madrid's cabinet testify... he did.
#2 N'Golo Kante
The energizer-bunny made flesh that is N'Golo Kante became the first player to win back-to-back Premier League titles with two different teams when he helped Antonio Conte to the title in his maiden season in charge at Chelsea.
The mere presence of Kante allowed both Chelsea (and the miracle workers of Leicester City) to play a two-man midfield and provide overloads on the flanks as well as up-front, a formula that had seemingly died down with the advent of the three-man midfield... and if doing the job of two men allowing for an antiquated footballing phenomenon to resurface and winning your league while at it isn't enough to earn you the highest recognitions there are, then all is simply lost.
#1 Toni Kroos
The German was the best midfielder in the world over the year - and still is currently - and his unique skill set - an inimitable ability to set a metronomic passing rhythm going, an ability to hit a bulls-eye painted on an apple from 80 yards, a reading of the game that allows him to make interceptions while never giving the impression that he just woke up and could not care less - makes him the single most valuable player in the Real Madrid squad.
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As much as Cristiano Ronaldo (or Leo Messi) deserves the title, Kroos can equally lay claim to the title of being the world's best footballer
