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2) Edinson Cavani (Paris Saint-Germain)
Come to think of it, the only Ligue 1 player named in the shortlist is Neymar - who's only there for his performances with Barcelona last season. The list is understandably dominated by players from Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus and Bayern Munich.
However, it would be criminal to neglect what Edinson Cavani achieved last season with PSG. The Uruguayan striker was in the form of his life, scoring a total of 49 goals across all competitions - including 35 goals in Ligue 1 (in 36 matches).
Yes, Ligue 1 is not as competitive as the other four in Europe's Top 5 leagues but that does not mean it should be rejected outright. Only Lionel Messi had scored more league goals than Cavani (37) but Ligue 1's weightage of just 1.5 to other top leagues' weightage of 2 saw him miss out.
But then what about the Champions League then? Cavani's tally of 8 goals made him the third-highest goalscorer after Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi. It is the same tally as another nominee Robert Lewandowski but Cavani played fewer minutes. Doesn't that count for nothing at all?
