5 players who do not deserve to be on the 30 man Ballon d'Or shortlist

Modified Oct 25, 2016 08:47 GMT

Dimitri Payet (West Ham United/ France)

The standout player in West Ham United’s squad, Dimitri Payet had a dream 2016, but considering the top class footballers currently plying their trade in Europe, Payet’s inclusion ahead of the likes of stalwarts like Bonucci, Sanchez and Ozil does merit a few questions.

The Frenchman was absolutely sensational for West Ham this year, but in the end, they failed to qualify for the main draw of the Europa League and even France fell agonisingly short in the Euro 2016 final.

Although Payet sizzled in the opening rounds for France, his performance levels dropped in the knockout games and he failed to live up in the really big matches. Having said all that, Payet did have an excellent year personally, but there will be some players who will feel that they did more with their club and country than the mercurial Frenchman.

About the author

A Bengaluru lad through and through, Ashwin Hanagudu is a huge fan of Liverpool and unsurprisingly pledges his sworn allegiance to RCB in the IPL. With over 8+ years of experience in this field, Ashwin manages multiple verticals at Sportskeeda and as of July 2024 is the most-read author in the football section.

Apart from his duties at Sportskeeda, Ashwin Hanagudu is also an active table tennis player and has played multiple state ranking and national tournaments representing Karnataka.

A huge sports fan, some of the athletes and sportspersons he admires in no particular order are Virat Kohli, Steven Gerrard, Mohamed Salah, Cristiano Ronaldo, Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Neeraj Chopra and PV Sindhu

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Edited by Staff Editor