“On top of them Cristiano Ronaldo and Riyad Mahrez” top 5 names who missed the 2023 Ballon d’Or nominations
The famous French magazine “France Football” has announced the list of players nominated for the Ballon d’Or 2023 award, which includes 30 players. Among the most prominent names on that list are the Argentine star Lionel Messi, who plays for Inter Miami in the United States, the French star Kylian Mbappe, who plays for Paris Saint-Germain in France, and the Norwegian giant Erling Haaland, who plays for Manchester City in England.
Collected pictures of four players who were excluded from the Ballon d'Or award - Source: Al Ain Sports website
The list witnessed the absence of several prominent stars, including the Portuguese legend Cristiano Ronaldo, who plays for Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia, and the star Riyad Mahrez, who plays for Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia. In this article, we will highlight the most notable names absent from the Ballon d’Or nominations for this year.
Cristiano Ronaldo:
The 2022/2023 season was not remarkable for the Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo, as he faced many problems with Manchester United and the manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer during the end of the previous season. This led to Ronaldo’s departure to Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia for two seasons.
Ronaldo did not perform up to expectations at the beginning of his tenure with Al-Nassr, but he significantly improved his level and excelled during that period, especially at the start of the Arab Championship, which Al-Nassr won against Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia. In the beginning of the new season of the Saudi Pro League, Ronaldo is currently leading the scorers’ table with 6 goals.
Riyad Mahrez:
Despite the excellent performance of the Moroccan football star Riyad Mahrez with Manchester City last season, winning the treble with the team in the UEFA Champions League, the English Premier League, and the English League Cup, he did not make it to the list of nominees for the Ballon d’Or this season.
During the current summer transfer window, Mahrez joined Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia, along with the veteran Brazilian star Roberto Firmino.
It is worth mentioning that Mahrez scored 15 goals and provided 13 assists in 47 matches he played last season with Manchester City.
Marcelo Brozovic:
The Croatian international star and player for Al-Nassr did not appear in the nominations for the Ballon d’Or this season, despite his fantastic season with his former club Inter Milan in Italy and the Croatian national team.
Brozovic was one of the key players in the Croatian national team, which finished third in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. He also delivered an excellent performance in the UEFA Champions League last season, where Inter Milan finished as runners-up after losing the final match against Manchester City with a score of 1-0.
Alisson Becker:
The veteran goalkeeper of Liverpool, Alisson Becker, was absent from the Ballon d’Or nominations this season. He was a regular guest in the list of nominees in previous seasons.
However, Alisson’s absence this season is due to the poor performance of the team last season, as they finished fifth in the Premier League and failed to qualify for the UEFA Champions League.
Moreover, the goalkeeper did not perform as expected individually, as he conceded 59 goals in 47 matches he played, while keeping a clean sheet in only 17 matches.
Thibaut Courtois:
The veteran Belgian star Thibaut Courtois was excluded from the list of players nominated for the Ballon d’Or this season, despite his presence in the previous season’s list and winning the Yashin Trophy from France Football as the best goalkeeper in the world.
Courtois did not make it to the list due to the poor performance of Real Madrid last season, as they only won the Copa del Rey title and failed to win the Spanish League, losing it to their arch-rivals Barcelona.
