5 players who deserved to be on the 30 man Ballon d'Or shortlist

#3 Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus)

A ball playing centre-back who is usually deployed in the centre of a three-man defence, Leonardo Bonucci is currently one of the best centre-backs in the world. The Italian followed a stellar domestic campaign with some amazing performances in Euro 2016 where he even made it to the team of the tournament.

One of the first names on the team-sheet for Juventus, Bonucci has played an integral part in Juventus’ incredible 5 consecutive Serie A triumphs. Pep Guardiola even called Bonucci one of his ‘all-time favourite’ players due to his ability to play gorgeous balls from out of the defence and set his team on the front foot with his increible passing range.

In 2016, his defensive attributes, as well as his skill on the ball, vision, and accurate passing, moved La Repubblica to dub him as “Beckenbonucci”, a reference to former German sweeper Franz Beckenbauer.

The Italian defender was extremely consistent last season and he definitely deserves to be on the 30 man shortlist.