The 30-man shortlist for the 2023 Balon D’or was released on Wednesday and it has unsurprisingly divided football fans.
The winner is set to be announced on October 30 with the front runners being Erling Haaland and Lionel Messi.
This piece isn’t concerned about the favourites to win the award but the glaring errors made by the exclusion of some players.
Below are 4 players who should have made the 30-man shortlist at least
1. Alisson Becker: It is beyond me how the Brazilian goalkeeper got excluded from the shortlist
He was the reason Liverpool weren’t as poor as Chelsea last season, preventing approximately 9 goals(according to Fbref) which was the joint most in the league.
He was also one of the two Premier League goalkeepers to have registered an assist last season with the other being Ederson Moraes of Manchester City.
He also featured for Brazil at the World Cup and kept 2 clean sheets in 4 games.
2. Marc-André ter Stegen: The German goaltender was instrumental to Barcelona winning the La Liga last season for the first time since the departure of club legend Lionel Messi.
He won the Zamora trophy for keeping the most clean sheets(26), equalling Paco Liaño’s 89-year-old record for most clean sheets in the Spanish top flight.
He also prevented the most goals of any goalie in the league according to Fbref.
3. Marcus Rashford: The exclusion of the young Englishman caught me off guard.
Manchester United would not have won the Carabao Cup or return to the Champions League without his goalscoring exploits.
The England international recorded 41 goal contributions in 52 games and also scored 3 goals at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
You will agree with me that he had a better season than Antoine Grizmann and Randal Kolo Muani who were on the list.
4. John Stones: Just like Erling Haaland, Rodri and Kevin De Bruyne, the England international played a vital role in Manchester City scooping the treble last season.
He was exceptional in playing in his natural position as a centre-back and showed great temerity when played as an inverted midfielder.
He capped his performances up with a stunning display in the Champions League final triumph over Inter Milan, recording the joint most dribbles in a Champions League final.
Should have edged his new teammate Josko Gvardiol to a place on the list, right?
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