5 players who should not have been nominated for the Ballon d'Or

The 30 man Ballon d'Or shortlist is out and it's not gone down well with the fans. Here's the full list if you don't know yet:

Gianluigi Buffon, David De Gea, Jan Obla, Leonardo Bonucci, Mats Hummels, Marcelo, Sergio Ramos, Philippe Coutinho, Kevin De Bruyne, N'Golo Kanté, Toni Kroos, Luka Modric, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Karim Benzema, Edinson Cavani, Paulo Dybala, Edin Dzeko, Falcao, Antonie Griezmann, Eden Hazard, Isco, Harry Kane, Robert Lewandowski, Sadio Mané, Kylian Mbappé, Diers Mertens, Lionel Messi, Neymar, Cristiano Ronaldo and Luis Suarez.

While most of them were brilliant this year, some of them are just on the list based on the clubs they play for or the trophies won by their team.

Here are 5 players who should NOT be on this shortlist:

#5 - Mats Hummels

What was special?

Bayern Munich won the Bundesliga, just like they did the year before, and the year before that and the year before that. What else did they do? Nothing. Oh yes, they knocked Arsenal out of the Champions League but again, that too is an annual thing.

In terms of personal performances too, Hummels was nothing too great. Javi Martinez and Philipp Lahm were better defenders than him at Bayern last season and this year, the whole back-line isn't performing well.

How the German star made it to the team after of Champions League winner, Carvajal and Premier League winner, Cesar Azpilicueta will remain a mystery!

#4 - Sadio Mane

Better than others?

Yea, Sadio Mane has been brilliant for Liverpool this year. He has been scoring and assisting at will but what has that got for Liverpool? A 4th place finish in the Premier League.

Did they win a trophy? No. Did they challenge for the Premier League title? No. They were knocked out of the FA Cup by minnows, Wolverhampton and then knocked out of the League Cup by Mane's former side, Southampton!

Tottenham stars, Dele Alli and Christen Eriksen have been better than him this year and were surprisingly ignored. Paul Pogba and the man who was carrying Arsenal throughout last season, until the very end, Alexis Sanchez have also been overlooked!

#3 - Philippe Coutinho

Were his performances THAT good?

Another Liverpool player who made the list is Philippe Coutinho. The Brazilian was better than Sadio Mane but was he better than the other midfielders in the Premier League that were mentioned in the previous slide? Nope.

This season, he's been on the bench for the transfer related issues and has only made a couple of apps for the Reds. He is someone who is not being hyped by the Liverpool fans itself but France Football somehow believe that he is among the 30 best players this year!

Liverpool might not have finished 4th last season had it not been for Coutinho but one needs to look at the bigger pitcher. There were at least 5 other midfielders who could have made the list ahead of the Brazilian for their performances this year!

#2 – Luis Suarez

On the list because...

Luis Suarez is one of the best strikers in the world without a doubt. But did he do anything significant in 2017 to be on the Ballon d'Or shortlist? Nope.

If this list was based on things that were done over the past couple of years and more, there wouldn't be any objection from anyone but 2017 has not been the Uruguayan's year.

He was overshadowed by Neymar and Messi at Barcelona with the departure of the Brazilian, Suarez has not managed to be the same player he was in 2016.

In 2017, Suarez has scored 25 goals for Barcelona but only one of them was scored when Barcelona were in a losing position! Apart from that, just 2 more goals were crucial for Barcelona and the rest were notched in when they were already winning comfortably!

#1 - Karim Benzema

The regular one!

If this list was written every year, Karim Benzema would be one name that would be on all of them! The Frenchman has don't NOTHING significant to deserve a place on the Ballon d'Or shortlist.

Benzema has scored 10 goals this year – 2 of them have been when Madrid were in a losing position and the rest when they were already leading! So what kind of an 'influence' has he actually made for Los Blancos?

The fact that Benzema has made the list ahead of Paul Pogba would not only make the midfielder wonder what he's done wrong but also make him doubt the whole list!

Benzema has not even been in the French squad for off-pitch issues and despite his poor performances for the club, he still makes the list. Well done France Football, well done!