The nominees for the 2017 Ballon D’Or have been announced and as always, they come with contreversy. Now, we all know the finalists will be Messi, Cristiano and Neymar. However, some of the players nominated have no business being in a list of the best 30 players in 2017. Along with that, there were several players that were left off the list for reasons beyond our understanding. As I do every year, here is my list of unwarrented nominees along with players who were snubbed off the award.
What were they thinking?
- Karim Benzema:
Benzema happens to be one of my favorite players in the Real Madrid side and for many years I thought his contribution to the team was underrated. With that being said, there is no way that Benzema should even be nominated for the Ballon D’Or this year. Inconsistent to say the least with injuries plaging his calander year. Over the course of last season, there were arguments to be made against Benzema starting instead of Morata. Statistically speaking, Benzema had one of his worst years of his career and his impact on the field was little to none.
- Edin Dzeko
Another case of “stats don’t tell the entire story”. Dzeko, on paper, is one of the highest goalscorers in Serie A. However, there’s much more to the game than just putting the ball away. Dzeko fails to contribute much in Roma’s system and consistently misses sitters. His goalscoring record deserves respect but overall as a player, I wouldn’t put Dzeko even in the top 30.
- Luis Suarez
If you guys have been following my writting for some time now, you know that Suarez isnt just one of my favorite players right now, but also of all time. Nonetheless, he has dissapointed me this calander year. His 2015 and 2016 performances were insane and I believed he deserved to be in the top 3 nominees. Yet this year, his performances have been forgetabble. Constantly loses possesion, misses chances that any other striker would be expected to make and hasn’t been assisting as much as he’s accustomed to. An award like this is for players who have performed at the highest level throughout the duration of the calander year. Suarez, unfortunately, has not.
Robbed:
- Alexis Sanchez
I was shocked to see that Arsenal F.C was not included in this list. You’re going to tell me that there’s 30 players who outperformed Alexis Sanchez this year? Dont buy it. The man does everything for Arsenal. Leading goal scorer for Arsenal in 2017, more than capable of setting his teammates up, tracks back on defense, and has been one of the few consistent players for Wenger. Overall, the team has been a complete mess but if there’s one player who’s survived this hurricane, it should be Alexis.
- Romelu Lukaku
The man has scored 30 goals this calander year including 14 this season in all competitions. He was one of the reasons why Belgium became the second European nation to qualify for the World Cup. On top of that, he’s the striker that Manchester United had been looking for in recent years. Strong precense, adds speed up top, deadly striker and just a force to be reckon with up top. No reason he shouldn’t even be in the top 30.
- Andres Iniesta
If you think that Iniesta is washed or irrelevant, you don’t know the game. Yet another case of “stats dont tell the entire story”. Iniesta doesnt score or even assit as much as he once did but that doesn’t mean that he’s any less magical. His precense continues to be critical for Barcelona’s system and without him, the team consistently looks lost. Playing alongside Messi, Suarez and Neymar forces you to take a backseat when it comes to offensive responsibilities. Overall, Iniesta continues to bring magic and class to the game even though statistics won’t always show it.
Disagree with me? You think one of these players does deserve to be nominated? Think someone else should be nominated instead? Comment below or DM me
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