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FIFA announced the 30-men shortlist for this year's Ballon d'Or prize yesterday, with most of the high profile names making the cut. Usual suspects Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo spearhead the nominees, whereas Luka Modric and Mohamed Salah, who both had stellar years of their own, are in contention too.
France, world champions this year in Russia, unsurprisingly have a massive contingent with Paul Pogba, Kylian Mbappe, Hugo Lloris, Rafael Varane and N'Golo Kante, whereas European champions Real Madrid too make up heavily in the list.
However, there were still a few big names that didn't get over the line whilst they should've. Here's the best XI of such players:
Goalkeeper: David De Gea (Spain/Manchester United)
It wasn't a good year for Manchester United last time, finishing 19 points behind city rivals Manchester City in the league and also without a silverware to celebrate. But amid the erratic run, De Gea stood tall as always. The Spaniard saved his side's beacon on countless occasions as his 18 clean sheets were unparalleled in the league while the 115 saves he made were the fifth best figures in the league.
However, fans and critiques alike weren't convinced by his performance at the World Cup where the shot-stopper failed to emulate those heroics. He was visibly below his best and also made few glaring errors directly leading to goals as Spain were knocked out in the last 16.
It's coming to a cropper like this at the biggest stage of all that might have cost De Gea a place in the Ballon d'Or list.
Right-back: Joshua Kimmich (Germany/Bayern Munich)
The Bayern fullback was the secret sauce in his side last season, coming of age to set the league alight. Kimmich was the most creative player in Jupp Hynckes' side after only James Rodriguez and Thomas Muller with 49 chances conjured that includes a league-high of 10 assists. He even struck a goal, but the highlight of his campaign was scoring in both legs of the semi-final tie against Real Madrid in the Champions League.
The 23-year old caught eyes with his tremendous speed and peerless energy, but Germany's catastrophic World Cup campaign in Russia means he too had to bare the brunt for it and missed out on the nominations.
Left-back: Jordi Alba (Spain/Barcelona)
It was a season of revelation for Alba, who thrived in the void left by Neymar after his departure to PSG. Not that he wasn't good anyways, but Alba raised his game by a notch or two and saw off his best club season yet. With 8 assists in La Liga, he was the best supplier among the fullbacks behind only Marcelo and also struck thrice in all competitions.
His link-up with Messi especially was so telepathic as his buccaneering forays to the box made everyone forget Neymar easily. But again, he too is a victim of his national side's poor World Cup campaign and hence misses out.
Centre-back: Gerard Pique (Spain/Barcelona)
Whilst Sergio Ramos made the cut again, having captained Los Blancos to the Decimotercero earlier in the year, his Spanish centre-back partner bites the dust. Pique was overlooked in the nomination despite a convincing season with the Blaugrana at the back last term, helping them to another domestic double.
The Spaniard was central to one of the best defences in La Liga as he proved to be a hard nut to crack for the attackers with his timely interceptions and ferocious tackles. He offered no great shakes in Russian showpiece however, and hung up his Spanish boots after the tournament.
Centre-back: Samuel Umtiti (France/Barcelona)
Unlike his other French teammates, Umtiti was unfortunate not to be in the 30-man shortlist for the Ballon d'Or. He was perennially present in Barcelona's backline whilst also proving to be crucial in France's victorious World Cup campaign. Umtiti even scored the winner in the semi-finals against Belgium. But he was outraced to the spot by his own teammate Varane.
Right midfielder: Kevin Trippier (England/Tottenham Hotspur)
This might seem a bit far-fetched, but Trippier really was in the form of his life. The Spurs fullback's marauding runs added an extra edge to their attack and a prolific campaign saw him earn a starting spot in England's World Cup games too. Originally a right-back, Southgate instead played him on the right-hand side of the midfield and he thrived in that role too.
And who can forget that beautiful freekick he struck against Croatia in the semi-finals? That encapsulated everything he is: technically brilliant, great vision and superb execution.
Central midfielder: Toni Kroos (Germany/Real Madrid)
There were few positives about that calamitous Germany side, and Toni Kroos has to be one of them. The chief creator, Kroos kept his side's hopes alive by scoring the winner against Sweden and also maintained an impressive 93% passing accuracy. He was in a sublime form for Real Madrid too, scoring 5 times and assisting on another 9 occasions.
He finished 17th last year, but in a year that was better than that, he doesn't even qualify in the top 30.
Left midfielder: David Silva (Spain/Manchester City)
A vital cog in the Manchester City juggernaut that romped to Premier League title last season, Silva's exclusion from the list is real bonkers, especially when you consider that someone like Karim Benzema made it instead. The Spaniard was the creative chieftain for side along with Kevin De Bruyne, and despite the off-field issues, never put a wrong foot forward or lost his way.
He created 61 chances for his side, including 11 assists, and also struck 9 times in the league. His average passing accuracy too, stood at an impressive 89%. How in the world were these statistics not enough to warrant him a place in the list is something beyond my comprehension.
Right-wing: Philippe Coutinho (Brazil/Barcelona)
It was a year of transition for Coutinho, who swapped Liverpool for Barcelona in January and spent the rest of the season trying to acclimatise to new surroundings. Yet, finished the season with 10 goals and 6 assists in 22 appearances. Not to forget he had already registered another 12 goals and 8 assists with the Reds in the first-half of the term.
So when you add it all up, the Brazilian ace actually had a fine year and starred for the Seleccao in Russia too. He was their best player in the campaign, scoring and assisting twice each to completely eclipse Neymar. Still, he is conspicuous by his absence from the shortlist.
Left wing: Paulo Dybala (Argentina/Juventus)
Dybala continued to have a great run with Juventus, netting 21 times in the league to help clinch a seventh consecutive Serie A trophy. Whilst he was off the form in Europe, Dybala nevertheless scored the winner against Tottenham in a close-knit contest to send them through to the last 8. He was also selected in Argentina's 23-man squad for the World Cup but used sparingly by the naive Jorge Sampaoli.
He didn't have a headline-grabbing season, but certainly did more, much more than Benzema to warrant a place in the list.
Striker: Robert Lewandowski (Poland/Bayern Munich)
The Bayern hitman picked up his third Torjagerkannon after finishing as the top scorer of the Bundesliga once again, with 29 goals to his name (41 in all competitions). He was as prolific as ever and also netted five times in the Champions League as Bayern made another top-four finish. However, he was terribly out of form in the World Cup as he failed to find the net even once, but admittedly, he was completely devoid of service too.
