5 deserving players who did not make the Ballon d'Or 30 man shortlist

#3 Federico Chiesa (Juventus/Italy)

5 Italy stars made the Ballon d'Or shortlist, but there was no space for Chiesa

5 Italians made the 30-man Ballon d'Or shortlist, but one big name missed out: Juventus star Federico Chiesa. The 23-year-old forward is full of pace and his direct running and dribbling skills have caused opposition defenses plenty of problems in the last year.

Chiesa played a starring role in Italy's Euro 2020 triumph, scoring a crucial goal in the semi-final. Arguably Juventus' best player at the moment, the Italian has every right to be disappointed about missing out.

If Chiesa continues playing in the same vein, he will definitely make plenty of Ballon d'Or shortlists in the future.

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#2 Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid/Slovenia)

Atletico de Madrid's Jan Oblak is unlucky to miss out on the 30-man Ballon d'Or shortlist

Atletico Madrid once again got the better of Real Madrid and Barcelona last season in La Liga. Luis Suarez played a crucial role, scoring plenty of important goals for Atletico Madrid.

The man who arguably played an even bigger role in Atletico's La Liga triumph was goalkeeper Jan Oblak. One of the most consistent goalkeepers in world football at the moment, Oblak has been among the game's top shot-stoppers for the last 3-4 seasons.

Winner of the La Liga Zamora Trophy in 2021, the Slovenian is an imposing presence between the sticks and is one of the most important players in Diego Simeone's combative Atletico Madrid side.

Like Emi Martinez, Oblak has also been nominated for the Yachine trophy. However, the Slovenian definitely deserved a spot on the main 30-man Ballon d'Or shortlist as well.

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#1 Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich/Germany)

FC Bayern München superstar Thomas Muller certainly deserves a place in the Ballon d'Or shortlist

Robert Lewandowski was undoubtedly Bayern Munich's main man last season, but Thomas Muller's numbers in the 2020-21 season were absolutely brilliant.

The German superstar had 11 goals and 19 assists in 33 Bundesliga appearances last season. His intelligent movement, passing and positioning, opened up space for the likes of Lewandowski and Gnabry to exploit.

This season, Muller has continued where he left off last season and has 4 goal involvements in 7 starts for Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga. A true Bayern Munich and German legend, the 32-year-old has been in stellar form over the last 12 months.

Muller's exclusion from the 30-man Ballon d'Or list is frankly baffling.

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Honorable mentions: Joshua Kimmich, Toni Kroos, Antonio Rudiger, Koke, Memphis Depay

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