The 30-man shortlist for the 2017 Ballon d’Or has been announced and the ceremony to announce the winners of this prestigious award will take place in London later this month. In Part 2 of the shortlist analysis we take a look at the final 15 nominees and what they did to justify their inclusion.
Harry Kane (Tottenham + England)
The world class England striker won the Premier League Golden Boot for the second consecutive season last campaign, scoring 29 times as Tottenham finished in second place, seven points behind London rivals Chelsea. The striker has been in sensational goal scoring form and last season was the third campaing running in which he bagged over 20 goals for Spurs. Kane has also started this season in fine form with six Premier League goals so far, and his 94th minute goal against Slovenia last week guaranteed England qualification for the 2018 World Cup.
N’Golo Kante (Chelsea + France)
The diminutive French midfielder played a crucial role in Chelsea’s title-winning season, and last campaign was Kante’s second consecutive Premier League title having won it the season before with Leicester. The Blues kept 16 clean sheets on their way to the title and Kante played as one of the central midfielders in Antonio Conte’s brilliant 3-4-3 system. The Frenchman made the second most tackles and the sixth most interceptions during the highly impressive season.
Toni Kroos (Real Madrid + Germany)
One of the midfield stalwarts in Real Madrid’s incredible season, Toni Kroos contributed 3 goals and 12 assists from defensive midfield as Los Blancos beat rivals Barcelona to La Liga title. Kroos also became the first German player to win the Champions League three times, starting all but one of Madrid’s games on their way to winning the competition. The German has excelled in the role of deep-lying playmaker and has been instrumental in the success of Zinedine Zidane’s Real Madrid side.
Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich + Poland)
Still indisputably one of the best strikers in world football, Robert Lewandowski scored 30 goals in the Bundesliga to help Bayern Munich breeze to the title once again. This was Lewandowski’s third consecutive Bundesliga title and the fifth of his illustrious career, and the Poland international once again proved his goal-scoring prowess. Despite a relatively poor Champions League campaign for the Bavarian giants the striker still managed to bag eight goals on the way to a quarterfinal exit, a tally only topped by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Sadio Mané (Liverpool + Senegal)
The Senegalese winger ended his first season at Liverpool with 13 goals and five assists in the Premier League, and instantly became a fan favourite as the Merseyside club qualified for the Champions League. As part of Liverpool’s devastating attacking force and playing ‘rock & roll football’ under manager Jurgen Klopp, Mané developed into one of the Premier League’s most exciting talents and started to add real consistency to his game.
Marcelo (Real Madrid + Brazil)
To my mind Marcelo is still the best left back in world football, and the Brazilian won his fourth La Liga title and third Champions League with Real Madrid last season. He provided an incredible attacking threat from left back, contributing 10 assists and two goals in the league, as well as offering defensive experience and solidity. The great Roberto Carlos once described Marcelo as his heir, and he has certainly lived up to that title.
Kylian Mbappe (Monaco + PSG + France)
Last season propelled Mbappe to international fame and made the Frenchman one of the most sought-after players in the summer. The 18-year old scored 15 goals and added eight assists as Monaco won Ligue 1 in stunning fashion, beating rivals PSG by eight points. The French club also made it deep into the Champions League, eventually losing out to Juventus in the semi-finals, and Mbappe scored six times in their European campaign. It was a stunning season for the youngster, who is a strong favourite to win the Golden Boy award, but it may be too early to be thinking about the Ballon d’Or just yet.
Dries Mertens (Napoli + Belgium)
Napoli manager Maurizio Sarri, who has turned the Italian side into one of the most exciting teams in Europe, moved Mertens to the striker role last season, and the Belgian flourished. 28 goals and nine assists in the Serie A helped Napoli to a third place finish and a Champions League spot, and Mertens added a further five goals and two assists in last season’s European campaign that ended in a Round of 16 exit. This season he has seven goals in seven games in the Serie A and Napoli currently sit at the top of the table.
Lionel Messi (Barcelona + Argentina)
We are at the stage where Lionel Messi’s statistics don’t surprise us anymore simply because of how incredibly talented the diminutive Argentinian is. However last season was another highly impressive one for the Barcelona legend who topped La Liga’s scoring charts with 37 goals in 34 appearances. That remarkable tally took his total to 54 for the season in all competitions after Messi added 11 goals in the Champions League, despite Barcelona’s relatively early exit. Perhaps most impressive however was the Argentinian’s hat-trick for his national team against Ecuador in their final World Cup qualifying game. The three goals secured Argentina’s place in Russia next summer and cemented Messi’s place in the hearts of his nation’s fanatical fans.
Luka Modric (Real Madrid + Croatia)
Another player whose importance to Real Madrid can often be undervalued by the average observer, Luka Modric occupies the deep-lying midfield role and has been one of Los Blancos’ most consistent players in the past few seasons. Capable of completely controlling a game and dictating Real’s attacking tempo Modric was part of a Madrid side that won La Liga and the Champions League, establishing themselves as one of the strongest sides in club football history.
Neymar (Barcelona + PSG + Brazil)
Despite a £200m move to PSG in the summer that threatens to change the landscape of football as we know it, much of Neymar’s claim on this year’s Ballon d’Or award comes from his achievements at Barcelona last campaign. The Brazilian provided 13 goals and 11 assists in La Liga as the Catalan giants finished in second spot. However it was his heroics in the Champions League that really set Neymar apart from most of the other players on this list. Not only did the winger provide the competitions highest assist total but he also almost single-handedly orchestrated Barcelona’s historic comeback win over PSG. Given Neymar’s incredible start in the French capital it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him back on this list next year.
Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid + Slovenia)
Last season was another campaign of relative success for Atletico Madrid as the Rojiblancos finished third in La Liga and reached the semi-finals of the Champions League, losing out to eventual winners and cross-city rivals Real Madrid. Once again Atleti’s season was defined by their defensive prowess and Jan Oblak was at the heart of this success, keeping a league-high 15 clean sheets in La Liga. The Slovenian shot-stopper is a hugely talented goalkeeper but with the abundance of forwards amongst the nominees for this award it would take a tremendous season for both player and team for Oblak to claim the Ballon d’Or.
Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid + Spain)
Despite his disciplinary record the Spanish defender has been one of the worlds best for a long time and last season was one of Ramos’ most successful in his time at Real Madrid. The centre half captained Los Blancos to a La Liga and Champions League double, becoming the first player ever to captain a team to back-to-back Champions League wins. Last season also saw Ramos pass the 500 game mark for Real and he bagged a remarkable 10 goals in all competitions, making it his most prolific season to date. Of all the defenders on the shortlist hoping to win this prestigious award Sergio Ramos has the strongest claim.
Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid + Portugal)
The favourite to win this year’s award, Cristiano Ronaldo can equal Lionel Messi’s record five Ballon d’Or wins if he does clinch it this year. Despite Real Madrid winning La Liga title Ronaldo only managed 25 goals – his worst total in the league for Los Blancos – which by anybody else’s standards is still an excellent total. However it was in the Champions League that Ronaldo excelled, as he is so prone to do. The Portuguese legend scored a competition-high 12 goals, including two in the final as Real became the first team ever to retain the Champions League in its current format. With such phenomenal success with his club and another season of impressive individual statistics it is Ronaldo’s award to lose.
Luis Suarez (Barcelona + Uruguay)
It was another season of impressive goal scoring form for the Uruguayan striker who has thrived at Barcelona since his move from Liverpool. Suarez banged in 29 La Liga goals to take his tally to 37 for the season in all competitions as the Catalan side finished runners up in the league. Unfortunately the season will go down as a disappointing one given that rivals Real Madrid achieved a domestic and European double. Nevertheless Suarez was still on of his side’s standout players and finished with the most assists in La Liga for the second consecutive season.
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