The Ballon d’Or 2016 ceremony saw Cristiano Ronaldo being crowned the winner of the prestigious award for the 4th time in his long and illustrious career. Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann came 2nd and 3rd respectively in the annual award ceremony.
However, France Football started the announcement with Toni Kroos at 17th position. They later revealed that Luka Modric and Dimitri Payet had also finished at the same position as Kroos, thereby causing some confusion. The governing body of Ballon d’Or revealed that 11 footballers out of the 30-man shortlist failed to receive any votes from the panel of 173 journalists and thereby the award was to be decided between 19 players.
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Here is how the 19 footballers finished in the race for the 61st Ballon d’Or:
#17 – Toni Kroos, Luka Modric and Dimitri Payet.
#16 - Robert Lewandowski
#14 - Paul Pogba and Arturo Vidal
#13 - Zlatan Ibrahimovic
#12 - Rui Patricio
#11 - Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
#9 - Gianluigi Buffon and Pepe
#8 - Jamie Vardy
#7 - Riyad Mahrez
#6 - Gareth Bale
#5 - Neymar
#4 - Luis Suarez
#3 - Antoine Griezmann
#2 - Lionel Messi
#1 And then the winner of Ballon d'Or 2016 - Cristiano Ronaldo
Also Read: Ballon d'Or 2016: 11 players who received 0 votes
While the list generally received a positive response, some inclusions and some absentees were the major points of discussion (and not Ronaldo winning the award ahead of Messi). The inclusion of Portuguese goalkeeper Rui Patricio at 12th position especially angered as well as baffled many.
Here are 5 players who deserved to be in the top 17:
#5 Andres Iniesta – FC Barcelona and Spain
While Iniesta is no longer the creative fulcrum that he once was for FC Barcelona it is hard to argue against his importance to Barcelona’s style of play. With the arrival of Neymar and Luis Suarez the Spaniard has moved to a more central role and orchestrates play instead of actually getting into goalscoring positions – he leaves that to the trio in front of him, arguably the best three that the world has ever seen, terrorizing defences at will and scoring goals almost like clockwork.
While this has resulted in a steady decline in his goalscoring and assisting stats, it has not reduced the insurmountable effect he has on Barcelona’s game. While Messi may run the show, it is Iniesta who fuels Messi and company. Not only is Iniesta essential to the Catalan outfit’s brand of football but he has also captained them to a quartet of titles over the course of the last season – two of which came this year – the Copa del Rey and the league title win.
He was also one of Spain’s better players in what turned out to be a dismal Euro 2016 campaign. However, according to the 173 journalists that voted for the Ballon d’Or – one of the best footballers of not only recent years but all time didn’t warrant a place in the top 17. Interesting!
#4 Gonzalo Higuain – Napoli/Juventus and Argentina
Last season, Napoli came the closest to ending Juventus’ dominance in the Serie A for the first time in 5 years. The Naples outfit were in the mix for the title right until the start of the April, when a 3-1 away loss against Udinese and a moment of madness from Gonzalo Higuain effectively ended any hopes of stopping the Old Lady from lifting their 5th consecutive Scudetto.
Higuain was sent off in the loss against Udinese and received a four match ban for his actions during the game, which was later reduced to three games but the hopes of a first title since 1990 faded with the ban on the Argentine. Napoli eventually finished 9 points behind the Champions but that is not why Higuain deserved to make the list. Nor is it because he secured a €90 million move to Juventus from his previous employers.
It is because he single-handedly took Napoli to the brink of Serie A success – a feat only managed by the legendary Diego Maradona before him. El Pipita scored 36 goals in the process – a Serie A record – surpassing Gunnar Nordahl’s 35 goals scored in 1949-50. He won the Serie A golden boot also referred to as Capocannoniere for his goalscoring exploits wherein he matched Gino Rosetti’s record of 36 goals in a division with 32 teams set in 1928-29.
While Higuain failed to win any honours with club and country – losing in the Copa America Centenario final, he deserved to be in the 17 ahead of some of the names that did make the cut just for his monumental feats in front of goal.
#3 N’Golo Kante – Leicester City/Chelsea and France
Leicester City winning the 2015/16 season of Premier League was without doubt one of the most incredible feats in the history of football. The Foxes rekindled hope in the hearts of many and proved it to the world that you are allowed to dream and that dreams do come true, if you believe in them.
While Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez, two of Leicester’s most important players were rewarded with a 8th and 7th placed finish on the final Ballon d’Or list, their midfield marshal and arguably the most important cog in the title winning maching – N’Golo Kante was ignored for the 30 man shortlist itself.
Kante’s importance to the Foxes is evr so evident this season as Claudio Ranieri’s side are struggling to get into the top half of the table and currently find themselves in 14th position. The Frenchman had made the most interceptions in the league last season – 156 – and his positional awareness coupled with his inherent ability to break up play was at the root of most of Leicester’s excellent counter-attacking play.
Following his move to Chelsea in the summer, Kante has established himself as one of the first names on the team sheet and has been instrumental in the Blues’ resurgence under Antonio Conte with the Stamford Bridge outfit currently running away with the league.
Kante also starred in midfield for France as the hosts made it to the final of Euro 2016, where they eventually lost to Portugal courtesy of Eder’s goal.
#2 Mesut Ozil – Arsenal and Germany
One of the most shocking exclusions from the 30-man shortlist announced by France Football was that of Arsenal maestro Mesut Ozil. The German playmaker was on fire for Arsenal last season and if not for the profligacy of his team-mates in front of goal, he could have managed to bring to an end the Gunners’ current Premier League drought.
Ozil racked up 19 assists in the Premier League last season and came agonizingly close to matching Thierry Henry’s record of 20 assists in a single Premier League season. The German playmaker also created 181 chances for the Emirates outfit across all competitions last season – a record.
Ozil was also in contention for the PFA Player of the Year but was pipped by Riyad Mahrez after guiding the Foxes to their maiden Premier League title triumph. He was also a key player for Joachim Low’s side at the Euros, where Germany’s attempt to follow the World Cup win with a Euro triumph was halted by an Antoine Griezmann inspired France in the semi-finals.
How the German failed to make the cut for the 30-man shortlist is beyond the realms of reality and purports to be blasphemous.
#1 Sergio Ramos – Real Madrid and Spain
Sergio Ramos has time and again proved to be Real Madrid’s most important player and has come up with the goods in the most unlikeliest of circumstances. Be it the 93rd minute equaliser against Atletico Madrid in the final of 2014 Champions League, which inspired Los Blancos to a 4-1 win over their arch-rivals, or his recent 90th minute equaliser against FC Barcelona in the first El Clasico of the season.
Ramos has been one of the best defenders in the world for a while now and played an equally important role in Real’s La Undecima triumph as any other player in the squad. Not only did he guide them to a Champions League win, he opened the scoring for the Santiago Bernabeu outfit on the night of the final, while also burying his spot-kick in the crucial penalty shootout.
Ramos also scored the equaliser for Real Madrid in the 93rd minute of the UEFA Super Cup, which forced the game into extra time and Real came out of the game winners courtesy of Dani Carvajal’s 119th minute winner. He was named the Man of the Match for both – the final of Champions League and the UEFA Super Cup. A player with that significant a contribution definitely deserved to make it into the top 17, if not the top 10.
