Ballon d’Or: An award marred with Controversy
One of the most awaited moments for any football enthusiast is the Ballon d’Or ceremony. It is where “arguably” the best player of the season is declared and crowned with the prestigious Golden Ball. Over the years the award given by France Football has been marred by controversy over who deserves it more, with fans debating over the so-called “rigged” nature of the award.
And so this time with the usual suspects not even being nominated for the ultimate prize, the Ballon d’Or ceremony will surely feel incomplete without their presence. But at the same time, it brings with it more controversy and debate as there suddenly are more contenders for the award with not much difference in their credentials over the past season. There have been many shouts over the past few days including players such as Rodri, Vinicius Jr and Jude Bellingham.
And just like every other season, yet again, there were deserving candidates who missed out on the Ballon d’Or nominations. Of course, this caused a huge uproar in the footballing world as there were some “unworthy” nominations. So let’s take a look at the top 5 players who deserved to be in the Ballon d’Or top 30 but were snubbed in the end.
5 Players who were wronged by France Football in the Ballon d’Or race
1. Rodrygo Goes
The Brazilian is without a doubt the most deserved candidate out of the 5 on this list. So much so, that his international teammate and icon Neymar Jr, posted a story on Instagram which said “Top 5 in the world, minimum”.
And it’s hard to disagree looking at Rodrygo’s resume for the 2023-24 season. 19 Goals and 9 assists in the season to go with the La Liga Title, UEFA Champions League title, and Supercopa title. Add to this the UEFA Super Cup which he won at the start of the new season. All of this while being the saviour in chief for Real Madrid on a number of occasions.
2. Jeremie Frimpong
One of the best if not the outright best fullback of last season, Jeremie Frimpong along with Alex Grimaldo had one of the best fullback pairing seasons with Bayer Leverkusen. With half of Leverkusen’s starting lineup in the Ballon d’Or list, it feels unjust that Frimpong was left out. With 25+ G/A as a fullback and an invincible season with Leverkusen with only a loss in the Europa League final, Frimpong surely should have been an easy shoo-in into the Ballon d’Or top 30. His exclusion is even a bigger surprise since he was so often Leverkusen’s danger man down the Right Flank.
3. Fabian Ruiz
The Spanish Midfielder had a phenomenal Euros campaign and a decent domestic season with PSG winning the Ligue 1 title and the Fench Cup. But the biggest reason why he is on this list is that after Rodri, Fabian Ruiz was possibly Spain’s best player consistently throughout the Euros. Scoring 2 goals and providing 2 assists, he was the player with the most Goal contributions after Lamine Yamal. Not only in attack but Ruiz was phenomenal even in the defence. In other words, Ruiz’s last season was arguably the perfect box-to-box season a Midfielder could ever have.
4. Jamal Musiala
The German starboy keeps on shining. Irrespective of how his team does, Jamal Musiala will always be the silver lining. His lack of trophies is overshadowed by the sheer amount of talent he showed on the pitch. Throughout Bayern Munich’s season, Jamal Musiala kept on impressing everyone who watched him. Germany’s brightest player and Euros top scorer, Musiala scored 16 goals and gave 11 assists.
5. Mohammad Salah
The Egyptian King has to be one of the most underrated Premier League players of all time. You wouldn’t believe it but the Liverpool player already has 214 goals and 92 assists for the Scouse club. The Europe’s best Right Winger since Messi left for Miami. The Liverpool star recorded 25 goals and 14 assists last season and has started the 2024-25 season with even more firepower. His exclusion was felt almost rigged by many fans.
Some Undeserving Candidates for the Ballon d’Or
On the other hand, there are some players who didn’t deserve to be in the top 30 according to many Players. Emi Martinez, and Martin Odegaard, are surely two such names. Did they really deserve their place in the top 30? Or did the players above have a better case? Or did someone else deserve it more? Do share your thoughts in the comments below.
