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The Ballon d'Or is, without doubt, the most prestigious individual prize in football. It is awarded by French news magazine France Football to honour the best male and female footballers every year. On Friday night, they released a 30-man shortlist for this year's Ballon d'Or.
Quite a few surprise inclusions in the Ballon d'Or 30-man shortlist
While the superstars of the game who have had excellent campaigns were predictably named on the shortlist, there were a few key exclusions. There are also a few players who, despite having had decent campaigns, perhaps haven't done enough to warrant a place on the 30-man Ballon d'Or shortlist.
Making the Ballon d'Or shortlist is an achievement in itself and some top stars are unfortunate to have missed out. Without further ado, let's take a look at six players who are lucky to have made the 30-man shortlist.
#5 Phil Foden (Manchester City)
Manchester City midfielder Phil Foden had a breakout season of sorts last term. He was excellent for the Premier League champions and has now established himself as a vital cog in Pep Guardiola's setup.
Foden scored 16 goals and provided 10 assists in 50 appearances across all competitions. While his contributions obviously go beyond those numbers, it's hard to argue that Foden deserved a place on the list ahead of, say, Thomas Muller.
The 21-year-old did win the Premier League and the League Cup with Manchester City. However, both those triumphs came as a result of concerted team efforts. Foden also had a very forgettable outing at Euro 2020, scoring no goals and providing no assists in three appearances in the continental competition.
While the younger will undoubtedly go on to be a mainstay in the Ballon d'Or race in the years to come, he is perhaps a bit fortunate to have made the shortlist this time.
#4 Pedri (Barcelona)
Pedri is just 18 years of age and we have already seen flashes of genius from him. He has been likened to legends like Andres Iniesta and Xavi and that itself speaks volumes of Pedri's ability on the ball.
The youngster was named Young Player of the Tournament at Euro 2020 in the summer for his heroics in the competition for the Spanish national team. The 2020-21 season has been a defining one for the youngster. He garnered the trust of his manager Ronald Koeman and became a fixture in Barcelona's starting lineup.
However, while it was a campaign where he announced his arrival, there are doubts regarding whether he was good enough to be named on the Ballon d'Or shortlist. As a central midfielder, he is not expected to contribute lavishly in the goalscoring department. But even then, his numbers don't make for great reading.
He scored just four goals and provided six assists in 52 appearances across all competitions for Barcelona in the 2020-21 season. While he did play a crucial role for Spain in their run to the finals of the Olympics as well, he just hasn't done enough to have a place on the Ballon d'Or 30-man shortlist.
#3 Luka Modric (Real Madrid)
Luka Modric is one of the best midfielders of his generation. That he broke the Cristiano Ronaldo - Lionel Messi duopoly over the Ballon d'Or by winning it in 2018 speaks volumes of his ability. He turned in quite a few excellent performances for Real Madrid last term as well.
However, it's a little confusing as to why Modric has made the 30-man Ballon d'Or shortlist ahead of Toni Kroos. The German international showed his class on multiple occasions and watching him orchestrate play from deep with his accurate passing was a joy to watch.
Modric scored six goals and provided six assists in 48 appearances across all competitions for Real Madrid in the 2020-21 season. Kroos scored three goals and provided 12 assists in 42 appearances.
The Croatian international did not win any major trophies either and as such, his inclusion is a bit baffling.
#2 Simon Kjaer (AC Milan)
While Simon Kjaer is a credible defender and an exceptional leader, his inclusion in the Ballon d'Or 30-man shortlist seems undeserved. He captained Denmark to the semi-finals of Euro 2020 but it's quite surprising that he made the list ahead of several others.
While Kjaer is a dependable presence at the back, he wasn't operating at as phenomenal a level as his inclusion might lead one to believe. Kjaer received a lot of praise in the summer for his intervention when his teammate Christian Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest during a game at Euro 2020.
The 32-year-old acted swiftly to put Eriksen in a recovery position before asking his teammates to form a wall around him as he was attended to by medical professionals.
While Kjaer is a solid centre-back, he is rather fortunate to have made the list ahead of other defenders like Milan Skriniar, Stefan de Vrij, Antonio Rudiger etc.
#1 Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea) and Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)
Cesar Azpilicueta was a member of the Chelsea side that won the UEFA Champions League title last season. While Azpilicueta's work ethic and effectiveness are commendable, his inclusion in the 30-man shortlist is a bit puzzling.
Azpilicueta was deployed either as a wing-back or as a right-sided centre-back in Tuchel's system last year. While he has definitely helped Chelsea become formidable at the back, he wasn't that outstanding on an individual level.
Raheem Sterling had a rather average season in 2020-21 by his own lofty standards. The 26-year-old had become a prolific goalscorer and creator for Pep Guardiola's side by the time the 2020-21 campaign rolled up. However, he struggled to assert his dominance last term.
He scored 14 goals and provided 12 assists in 49 appearances across all competitions for Manchester City. Sterling won the Premier League title and the League Cup and played a crucial role in England's run to the finals of Euro 2020.
But he was nowhere close to his best and his inclusion in the 30-man Ballon d'Or shortlist is as surprising as any we've seen in recent times.
