Top 5 picks for the 2021 Ballon d'Or award - Fabrizio Romano
The competition for the Ballon d'Or has always been very exciting. All the fans are wondering who will win this year's award.
It is important to remember the criteria decided by France Football for who will vote officially. The Ballon d’Or voting works as follows:
Each country has one ballot decided by (almost always one) journalist, in which players are ranked one through five. Players receive six points for being ranked first, four points for second, three points for third, two points for fourth, and one point for fifth
According to France Football, the governing body of the award - The rules and regulations that the jury will need to follow to choose and rank their top five selections are:
1. Individual and collective trophies during the year;
2. Player talent and stats over the year;
3. Overall judgment of the player's career.
These are obviously the basic criteria, to which you can add your personal preference, your feeling towards the season played by a single player.
Official. AC Milan and Denmark centre back Simon Kjaer extends his contract until June 2024 as Rossoneri player. 🔴🇩🇰 #ACMilan
He’s also among 30 candidates for Ballon d’Or.
The list of 30 shortlisted players for the Ballon d'Or award consists of: Cesar Azpilicueta, Nicolò Barella, Karim Benzema, Leonardo Bonucci, Kevin De Bruyne, Giorgio Chiellini, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ruben Dias, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Bruno Fernandes, Foden, Erling Haaland, Jorginho, Harry Kane, N'Golo Kanté, Simon Kjaer, Robert Lewandowski, Romelu Lukaku, Riyad Mahrez, Lautaro Martinez, Kylian Mbappè, Lionel Messi, Luka Modric, Gerard Moreno, Mason Mount, Neymar, Pedri, Mohamed Salah, Raheem Sterling, Luis Suarez.
The Ballon d'Or 2021 30-man shortlist has some big names missing
In my opinion, there are at least two players who deserve to be part of it and are inexplicably absent:
Federico Chiesa had an extraordinary Euros with Italy and a good season with Juventus. He was a decisive player for Roberto Mancini and beyond. The other is Edouard Mendy. The goalkeeper was excellent for months with Chelsea and above all played a starring role in Chelsea's UEFA Champions League triumph. Both definitely deserve a place in the 30 candidates.
The big favorite to win the Ballon d'Or is Lionel Messi. My impression is that in the end it will be the Argentine who will win. He didn't win trophies with Barcelona but he still played at exceptional levels in La Liga, as always.
Above all he won the Copa America, a historic milestone for Argentina that could deliver the Ballon d'Or to Messi. However, Karim Benzema, excellent with France and Real Madrid, and Robert Lewandowski, unstoppable with Bayern Munich, will also compete to win.
Ballon d'Or 2021: My top 5 votes
I am not officially voting for the Ballon d'Or. But my personal vote would have gone for N'Golo Kanté in first place. An excellent player, champion of Europe with Chelsea, who also won the Champions League thanks to his extraordinary performances.
I'd like to vote first for those who are "behind the scenes", who run for their teammates and make a difference. Kanté is a top-level player and a great human being. Chelsea won the Champions League and N'Golo Kante was always man of the match in key games: that's why I would have voted for him.
Former Barcelona star Samuel Eto'o has backed Lionel Messi to win the 2021 Ballon d'Or award. dlvr.it/SBXKGt
Certainly Lionel Messi has already won the Ballon d'Or several times in the past and is a timeless champion, so immediately after Kante, my vote would go to the Argentine.
In third place I would vote for Robert Lewandowski. The Pole is a winner and a scoring machine with Bayern Munich. The fourth place I would hand over in "my podium" would be to Karim Benzema. The Frenchman is class in its purest form and, despite the disaster of France in the Euros, is a unique player.
In fifth place, I would have Jorginho. Winner in all the top competitions with Italy and Chelsea. He put in extraordinary performances full of quality in midfield. For me, he deserves great consideration for an incredible season.
On November 29th we will know officially who the 2021 Ballon d'Or winner is. Who do you think deserves to win the 2021 Ballon d'Or award?