Ballon d'Or 2016: 5 players lucky to be in the top 17
The Ballon d’Or awards and ranking list were finally announced last night and it came as no surprise to anyone that Portugal and Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo picked up his 4th Ballon d’Or award.
What came as a surprise, however, is that 11 players received no points at all from the journalists and were unranked. Some huge stars like Sergio Ramos, Andres Iniesta and Manuel Neuer failed to make the cut.
Also read: Ballon d'Or 2016: 5 players who deserved to be in the top 17
While the players in the top 17 undoubtedly had an amazing year for club and country, some of the players left out might have deserved to be ranked ahead of them. In this article, we take a look at 5 players who are lucky to be in the Ballon d’Or top 17.
#5 Rui Patricio – Rank 12
The Portuguese shot-stopper might have been one of the star performers in the Euro 2016 final, but apart from that, Patricio was not especially spectacular throughout the year. While the goalkeeper was undoubtedly solid between the sticks for Sporting CP, the fact that he was ranked at number 12 ahead of some stalwarts like Manuel Neuer, Sergio Ramos and Andres Iniesta definitely caused quite a few eyebrows to be raised.
Being one of the standout performers in one single match (Euro 2016 final) cannot discount the performances of others throughout the year and while it may sound harsh, there is no denying the fact that there are many more deserving candidates who can be ahead of the talented Portuguese shot stopper.
Social Media as always went into overdrive, but the above tweet captured how most people felt.