Ballon d'Or 2017: 5 players who did not deserve their ranking
The Ballon d'Or 2017 ceremony was held with much hype and fanfare last Thursday, and predictably, it was Cristiano Ronaldo who claimed the top prize for his stunning performances in the latter stages of LaLiga and the UEFA Champions League.
However, while the first three positions (Ronaldo, Messi and Neymar) were predictable, there were some surprises when the final list of 30 ranks was released by France Football and L'Equipe.
We take a look at 5 players who perhaps did not deserve their high ranking in this year's Ballon d'Or:
#5 Mats Hummels (Rank 27)
Mats Hummels is undoubtedly one of the best defenders of this generation. However, the German defender definitely did not deserve to be among the top 30 footballers this year, especially after he struggled with some injury and form issues for Bayern Munich.
Although Bayern Munich claimed another routine Bundesliga title last season, in the Champions League they came apart against Real Madrid and Hummels' performance, like most of his Bayern Munich teammates last season, did not exactly set the world on fire.
A technically gifted defender and one of the best ball-playing centre-backs in the world, Hummels, when fit and firing, is definitely one of the best players in the world, however, him being ranked ahead of the likes of Edin Dzeko, Dries Mertens and Philippe Coutinho is slightly surprising to say the least.