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Ronaldo, Messi lead Ballon d’Or nominees..Nigerians Missing

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6 years ago

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Nigeria may be one of the few countries already confirmed of a spot in next year’s FIFA World Cup in Russia but none of its stars could sneak into the 30-man Ballon d’Or shortlists released on Monday.
Victor Moses and Alex Iwobi are some of the Nigerian internationals who have been outstanding in the year 2017 but they were not shortlisted as anticipated.
Cristiano Ronaldo is favourite to win the Ballon d’Or 2017 after the 30-man shortlist was released by France Football.

The prestigious award has been won by the Real Madrid superstar or Barcelona ace Lionel Messi for the past nine years.

Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Antoine Griezmann form the chasing pack, while Premier League representatives include Sadio Mane and Harry Kane.

The award winner will be named by France Football on 6th December, though there won’t be a traditional gala to celebrate the winner’s achievement.

Victor Moses, the Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a winger or wing-back on either flank for Premier League club Chelsea was one of the most outstanding players in 2017.

 Another Nigerian outstanding footballer that missed the list is the Arsenal youngster, Alex Iwobi. Recall that the blues no 15 jersey man helped Chelsea to win the Premier League title last season and also to qualify for the final of the Emirates FA Cup.

The 26-year-old also played key roles in Nigeria qualifying for the 2018 World Cup and was named by the Confederation of African Football in the Best eleven of Match Day 3 and 4 of the CAF 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

English Premier League side, Arsenal FC, recently celebrated their youngster, Alex Iwobi, who scored Nigeria’s solitary match winner against Zambia in the group B World Cup Qualifier played in Uyo.

Recall that Alex Iwobi was a member of the Arsenal team that won the Emirates FA Cup last season. For the past nine years, the Ballon d’Or has been won by either Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi.

Ballon d’Or 2017 Shortlist So Far

  1. Neymar (Paris SG/BRA)
  2. Luka Modric (Real Madrid/CRO)
  3. Paulo Dybala (Juventus/ARG)
  4. Marcelo (Real Madrid/BRA)
  5. N’Golo Kante (Chelsea/FRA)
  6. Luis Suarez (Barcelona/URU)
  7. Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid/ESP)
  8. Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid/SLO)
  9. Philippe Coutinho (Liverpool/BRA)
  10. Dries Mertens (Napoli/BEL)
  11. Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City/BEL)
  12. Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich/POL)
  13. David De Gea (Manchester United/ESP)
  14. Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur/ENG)
  15. Edin Dzeko (Roma/BIH)
  16. Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid/FRA)
  17. Toni Kroos (Real Madrid/GER)
  18. Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus/ITA)
  19. Sadio Mane (Liverpool/SEN)
  20. Radamel Falcao (Monaco/COL)
  21. Lionel Messi (Barcelona/ARG)
  22. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Borussia Dortmund/GAB)
  23. Edinson Cavani (Paris SG/URU)
  24. Mats Hummels (Bayern Munich/GER)
  25. Karim Benzema (Real Madrid/FRA)
  26. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid/POR)
  27. Eden Hazard (Chelsea/BEL)
  28. Leonardo Bonucci (AC Milan/ITA)
  29. Isco (Real Madrid/ESP)
  30. Kylian Mbappe (Paris SG/FRA
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