5 players who do not deserve to be on the 30 man Ballon d'Or shortlist

The 30 man shortlist for the Ballon d’Or award was finally announced last night and although it included the familiar names like Lionel Messi, Antoine Griezmann, Luis Suarez and Cristiano Ronaldo, there were some surprising inclusions and exclusions in that list.

While all the 5 players on this list did have amazing years for their clubs and country, we believe that these players are slightly lucky to be on this list ahead of the other top players in Europe.

We take a look at 5 players who did not deserve to be on the 30 man Ballon d’Or shortlist:

Rui Patricio (Sporting CP/ Portugal)

Rui Patricio might have been one of the star performers in the Euro 2016 final, but barring that display, he did not exactly set the world on fire with his goalkeeping skills at Sporting CP. 

The Portuguese shot-stopper was selected ahead of some much more deserving candidates like Jan Oblak or David De Gea thanks to his performances only in one tournament (Euro 2016). There is no denying the fact that Patricio is a very very good shot stopper, but this list is supposed to include the top 30 footballers in Europe for the year 2016 and Patricio with his performances throughout the year does not deserve to be on the 30 man shortlist.

Although it might be harsh, there is no denying the fact that there are many more deserving candidates who can be on the list ahead of the talented Portuguese shot-stopper.