"I don't even know which names are on the list" - Tuchel responds after being asked to pick Chelsea favorite for 2021 Ballon d'Or 

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has offered his honest opinion on the race for the 2021 Ballon d'Or award. Ahead of the Blues' Premier League clash against Brentford, Tuchel was quizzed about his pick for the highly-coveted Ballon d'Or award.

Notably, Chelsea have the joint-highest number of nominees on the 30-man shortlist for the Ballon d'Or after their remarkable triumph in the Champions League last season. Despite several of his players dominating the talks surrounding football's most prestigious individual prize, Tuchel has refused to buy into the hype.

The Chelsea boss feels football is a team game and admits he isn't a big fan of such individual awards. Tuchel went on to state that he is still unaware of the five Chelsea players who have been nominated for the Ballon d'Or this year.

Speaking to reporters at the pre-match press conference, the Chelsea manager stated:

“Do you believe me if I told you I don’t even know who it is on the list? I’m not into these individual awards.

"I believe that this is a team effort and what we did last season, that [helped] these players on the list, was a team effort. We were more than just single players, we were a team, a group of friends almost and it felt like we were a strong club.

"That gave us the possibility to reach the final and to win it. This gave us the opportunity to have some players on the famous list of 30 names. Super happy when there are five names from us because it shows that they are valued and that the guys did a good job."

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Chelsea player winning Ballon d'Or can boost confidence: Tuchel

Despite being unaware of the Chelsea stars contesting the race for the Ballon d'Or, Tuchel admitted he wants one of his players to win it. The German tactician feels it could boost the confidence of the entire squad. However, the Chelsea boss also added he won't judge anybody over another member of the squad based on an individual award.

"They are in the spotlight and I hope one of our players gets it because it will increase the confidence and everything you need to become a good player. I don’t even know which five names are on the list and I will not judge anybody over another.”

During the interaction with the media, Tuchel also revealed that Antonio Rudiger, Christian Pulisic and Thiago Silva will be unavailable for selection against Brentford. Hakim Ziyech also remains doubtful, but Romelu Lukaku is in contention to start despite his injury scare during the international break.