Top 3 surprising nominations for the Ballon d'Or 2018

#2- Gareth Bale

Gareth Bale was out injured for a good part of last season

Gareth Bale has been one of the greatest players to put on the Tottenham Hotspurs jersey. He is ruthless with his left foot finishes and providing assists to his fellow mates. His goal scoring stats in the Premier League was the main reason behind the Spurs' evolution into the team that they are today.

Real Madrid saw Bale's skillset and were ready to bring him to the club which they did for a record fee in 2013. Since then, Bale has never been the player we had seen during his days in the Premier League.

The major reasons for the underperformance of the speedster are his injuries and the very few matches he has been playing each season for Real Madrid. Whenever Bale plays he makes sure he is up to the Real Madrid benchmark but has always been found guilty of poor passing and sometimes even selfish gameplay.

It is not that Bale is not a good player but he was injured half of the last Champions League winning-season (17/18) for the Los Blancos although he scored twice in the final. Being shortlisted in the Top 30 list is a big achievement for him as an individual since Ronaldo carried Madrid on his back until the UEFA Champions League final.