5 Players who could beat Lionel Messi to the Ballon d'Or award this year

#2 Raheem Sterling

Pep Guardiola's Manchester City is a team built on collective strength featuring world-class superstars in all areas but English International, Raheem Sterling deserves a lot of individual plaudits for his unbelievable performances for the Citizens during the season.

The attacker has taken his game to a whole new level, rising up at the most important moments and producing the spark needed to keep his team firing.

Sterling had one of his most prolific campaigns so far, with a return of 25 goals and 18 assists across all competitions which earned him both the PFA Young Player Of The Year and the FWA Player Of The Year in the Premier League.

Having also tasted tremendous success claiming all of the Premier League, the EFL Cup and the FA Cup with Manchester City during the term, there is no doubt he deserves a spot on this list.

About the author

Jidonu is a European and international football news writer at Sportskeeda. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and has around 7 years of previous experience working with the likes of Tribuna and SportRaba, Jidonu has a good eye for detail and has the ability to created cohesive articles, and reporting exploits have also led him to exclusively cover the 2018 FIFA World Cup in the past.

Jidonu’s tryst with football started after watching the 2002 FIFA World Cup final between Brazil and Germany, being mesmerized by Ronaldo and Ronaldinho. Barcelona philosophy and approach towards the game under Pep Guardiola further fueled the burgeoning love for the sport, and he has been a Culer ever since.

Unsurprisingly, Lionel Messi is his favorite player and is the one true GOAT for him over Cristiano Ronaldo. The 2022 FIFA World Cup final, where Messi's brace led to La Albiceleste lifting the cup left a lasting impact on him. His love for Messi also sees him follow Major League Soccer apart from Europe’s top five leagues.

In his free time, Jidonu raps and produces music, and also enjoys reading and swimming.

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Edited by Rahul Arun