With the Ballon d’or ceremony just hours away, I will once again predict the placement of the 30 nominees. As always this is just my opinion so if you disagree tell us your opinion on our Instagram!
30. Darwin Núñez (Uruguay, Liverpool)
Liverpool’s -possibly- record-breaking signing finishes rock bottom in this list, for me. This is mainly because he did all of his work last year in the Portuguese Primeira Liga. This is not to say that the Primeira Liga isn’t a top league but in comparison to the others in the list his feats are the least notable. This is not to say that he played poorly as he actually did very well.
29. Sébastien Haller (Ivory Coast, Borussia Dortmund)
Now last year I talked of Simon Kjær being a pity nomination and this year some may think that the pity nomination would be Sebastien Haller. However I do not. Sebastien Haller had 43 goal contributions last season 28 of which came in the Eridevisie. Using my logic from before you could say that the Eridivesie isn’t a top league, however, his Champions League performances were consistently phenomenal with him getting eleven goals in just eight games in Europe’s premier club competition! Mental!
28. Luis Diaz (Colombia, Liverpool)
What a season Luis Diaz had. 22 goal contributions for Porto before getting a dream move to Liverpool and winning both the Carabao and FA Cups. His 6 goals and 2 assists for Liverpool may not sound impressive, but the impact he had was monumental; pushing out an out of form Diogo Jota out of the side, allowing Sadio Mané to play centrally, and providing the squad depth and energy necessary for Liverpool’s long haul season.
27. Mike Maignan (France, AC Milan)
With Gianluigi Donnarumma out the door in the summer, AC’s defensive strength seemed to be following suit. That was until Mike Maignan stepped in. The French shot-stopper enjoyed an impressive season with LOSC Lille as they broke PSG’s title-winning streak, coming top of Ligue 1. Milan saw him as the perfect replacement for Gigi and they were proven right as Mike Maignan added to his trophy cabinet winning the Scudetto in his debut season.
26. Fabinho (Brazil, Liverpool)
Fabinho once again proved how integral he is for this Liverpool side last season. He gave Liverpool the structure they needed to push forward, knowing that he would be there to sweep up should they be hit on the counter attack. With his tackle success rate of 54%, his 193 recoveries and 0 errors leading to goals it’s clear to see just how key he is to this Liverpool team.
25. Dušan Vlahović (Serbia, Juventus)
Dušan Vlahovic was Serie A’s breakout star last year scoring 17 in the first half of the season with Fiorentina and getting a dream move to Juventus. However his form slightly tailed off at The Old Lady as he scored just 7 in the remaining 15 games. I am sure, however, that should he have continued his form from Fiorentina he would rank higher on this list.
24. Joshua Kimmich (Germany, Bayern Munich)
Now, you may be thinking, Jake, why have you put Kimmich so low?! I’ll tell you why- he was just good. Not great, not outstanding, just good. Bearing in mind just how good Joshua Kimmich is when he is ‘just good’ you can see why he was nominated, but I don’t believe that he deserves to place higher than any of the others on this list. This is not to put him down though, as he did still win the Bundesliga with Bayern and he was a key component in that Bayern team. So well done, Joshua. You did good, just good.
23. Bernardo Silva (Portugal, Manchester City)
Bernardo Silva is a classic example of a consistent performer. Almost never poor and regularly excellent. He and his midfield compatriot Kevin de Bruyne complemented each other brilliantly with Bernardo’s dribbling and De Bruyne’s passing they were the force making Manchester City’s attack so potent. Bravo, Bernardo!
22. Antonio Rüdiger (Germany, Real Madrid)
Antonio Rüdiger was Chelsea’s rock at the back during the 2021/22 season. From his aerial dominance to his 58% tackle success rate, he took Chelsea’s defence from average to fantastic as they got to two domestic finals and came third in the league. All of this got him his move to Real Madrid where he is looking to make an impact in La Liga.
21. Riyad Mahrez (Algeria, Manchester City)
With Sergio Aguero gone to Barcelona Manchester City needed a new main attacker, and ,thankfully, Riyad Mahrez stepped up to the plate. With 34 goal involvements, Mahrez was an understated success in Manchester City’s title winning season. As well as winning the league he helped Manchester City to the semi finals of both the Champions League and FA Cup.
20. Trent Alexander-Arnold (England, Liverpool)
After a questionable 20/21 season Trent was keen to prove his doubters wrong. And he did just that. Trent gave Liverpool just what they needed as he showed his attacking qualities having 24 goal involvements in 44 appearances in all competitions- from right back! His defensive qualities were occasionally questioned but he was key to Liverpool getting agonisingly close to a quadruple.
19. Rafael Leao (Portugal, AC Milan)
Rafael Leao was phenomenal last season. Phenomenal. He had begun to look like a bit of a flop since joining from Lille but he clicked into an entirely different gear in the past year. His fast feet, knowledge of every skill under the sun and fantastic eye for a pass won him not only the Scudetto but the player of the year award for Serie A.
18. Harry Kane (England, Tottenham Hotspur)
Harry Kane coming 18th is the marker of just how close the players are in the list from this point on. Kane’s 26 goals and assists was a driving force to take Tottenham back into the Champions League for the first time in 3 years. As well as this Kane is showing that he can play in a variety of roles up top from a drop back playmaker to an out and out target man.
17. Casemiro (Brazil, Manchester United)
Casemiro has been, in my opinion, one of the, if not the, most underrated players in the world over the past decade and last year he got to show just how good he was. The Brazilian physicality monster dominated midfield with Real Madrid as Los Blancos won both the La Liga and their 14th Champions League. However, his move to Manchester United this summer was quite an odd one.
16. Phil Foden (England, Manchester City)
Manchester City’s golden boy just misses out on the top half of the list after a stellar season with Manchester City. Not only did he perform well but he gave Manchester City added squad depth as he showed versatility from playing as a striker in a false nine to playing as a number 8. In addition to this he won young player of the year for a second year in a row proving just how much of a ‘must have’ he is for England’s 2022 World Cup Campaign.
By Jake MacLeod
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