Ballon d'Or: 10 players who could have won if Messi and Ronaldo did not exist

#9 N'golo Kante

Leicester City v Everton - Premier League — N'golo Kante helped pull off the greatest football miracle

Leicester City shocked the footballing world when they managed to win the Premier League title in 2015/16 season under Claudio Ranieri. While Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez ran away with most of the plaudits, one man who was indispensable for the side was the diminutive French midfielder, N'golo Kante.

In 2016, Kante was arguably the best midfielder in world football. Capable of reading the game supremely, Kante's positioning, interception skills and stamina made him a vital cog in the team.

Securing a move to Chelsea on the back of his wonderful performances with Leicester City, Kante showed his class by securing the PFA Player of the year award and guiding Chelsea to the Premier League title.

One of the most underappreciated players in the game, Kante certainly deserved to win the prestigious individual prize.

About the author

A Bengaluru lad through and through, Ashwin Hanagudu is a huge fan of Liverpool and unsurprisingly pledges his sworn allegiance to RCB in the IPL. With over 8+ years of experience in this field, Ashwin manages multiple verticals at Sportskeeda and as of July 2024 is the most-read author in the football section.

Apart from his duties at Sportskeeda, Ashwin Hanagudu is also an active table tennis player and has played multiple state ranking and national tournaments representing Karnataka.

A huge sports fan, some of the athletes and sportspersons he admires in no particular order are Virat Kohli, Steven Gerrard, Mohamed Salah, Cristiano Ronaldo, Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Neeraj Chopra and PV Sindhu

Know More

Edited by Amit Mishra