The announcement of the French Football to cancel this year’s edition of the Ballon D’or presentation dropped like the famous Japanese bombs, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki in the hearts of the players, managers, football lovers, and other stakeholders.
There was a clear desire not to place an asterisk next to this year’s award, but that would not have been necessary because no such asterisk has been placed next to Lewandowski’s Bundesliga achievements, neither Benzema’s title-winning performance in Spain nor asterisk on Liverpool’s triumph either, with a handful of their players being rooted for to make top-10 shouts at the very least.
Although France Football’s decision is quite understandable at the same time, it’s heart-rending. It means that players who have contributed immensely to the success of their respective teams this season and are hoping of bagging an accolade or two in December are being robbed of a chance to have a go at the award.
This is an award that has been long dominated by two fabled-duo (Ronaldo and Messi) and many have had their hopes raised to see another challenger similar to the one that emerged in Luka Modriç in 2018 come again to snatch the award from the usual suspects on the podium, especially when there’s more to play for in the Champions League – this isn’t right.
Unfortunately, the world would have to wait for next year to witness another Ballon D’or event. But as things stand, we have major losers in this year’s Ballon D’or cancellation.
The top contenders who have missed out on a shot at winning the Ballon d’Or Prize.
- Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)
Poor Karim Benzema, who’s scintillating performance propelled Real Madrid to the Liga title in their first post-Cristiano Ronaldo era has been backed by the Real Madrid manager and President to win the Ballon d’Or.
“Benzema should be the Ballon d’Or, I have not seen any player have as good a year as him” Florentino Perez stated.
Benzema has been a reliable institution for Zidane in previous seasons but his efforts were completely overshadowed by the presence of Cristiano Ronaldo.
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But since the exit of the Portuguese star, Benzema’s form has made him a sole contender for the award; he notched 21 goals in 37 league games as Real beat arch-rivals Barcelona to the LaLiga title.
But apparently, time is running out for him and it begs the question whether he will ever be in such a strong position to win it again.
- Sergio Ramos
Real Madrid’s first Spanish title since 2017 was built on a defense that was marshaled superbly by Ramos as he enjoyed his most consistent campaign for some time.
It was his goalscoring exploits towards the end of the season, though, that help moved Madrid towards snatching the 37th title from arch-rival as he found the net on a number of occasions.
Former Los Blancos defender, Cannavaro was honored after captaining Italy to World Cup glory, but he is the only defensive player to win the Ballon d’Or in the last 22 years.
It was looking like Ramos may yet have another chance to join his fellow center-back as a Ballon d’Or winner, but he was denied to dream about making the top three talks more winning the gong this year. As the annual individual award was canceled due to the global pandemic that halts all sporting events across the globe.
- Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
A 34-goal Bundesliga haul and nothing to show for it, other than another Bundesliga trophy, Bundesliga Player of the Season award, and maybe even a European Golden Shoe.
Bayern Manager, Hansi Flick, said “If I measure for goals now and I see that he has scored 34 goals in the Bundesliga this year, then you can think about how a player from the Bundesliga can become the Ballon d’Or winner. So why not? He has laid all the groundwork with this achievement this year and I would wish him well”
The 31-year old Polish forward has been prolific for Bavarians this term, scoring a staggering 51 goals in 43 matches and also helping the club win their eighth consecutive Bundesliga title as well as the German Cup.
Just like Benzema, this may just be his last chance of landing the gong given that he will have a hard time shining with Poland at international tournaments and for Benzema, it’s as sure as death that he will no longer feature for the Les Blues as long as Didier Deschamps remains the manager; this leaves the unfortunate duo at a disadvantage.
And not to forget the age factor, time is of the essence.
- Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus)
This Portuguese is already at a disadvantage because last year’s edition of the award means he’s adrift (5) of Barcelona’s Lionel Messi (6); and his chance to equal the tally has just been dampened.
Thankfully for Ronaldo, Messi did not win anything in Spain and it’s possible that he may end the season trophyless but posted fantastic statistics (25 goals, 22 assists) which could have offered him the supreme reward. While Ronaldo became the first player to score at least 50 goals in the Premier League, LaLiga, and Serie A.
And since It’s no secret that he will undoubtedly snatch the title in Italy and can still hope to finish Golden Shoe, which would’ve handed him a better chance to draw level with his fierce rival Messi, but he’ll have to wait at least another year.
- Lionel Messi
The Argentine is a phenomenon, but the 2020 campaign hasn’t been his best year. His 25 league goals allowed him to win his seventh Pichichi and he registered 21 assists, and this put him in contention for a seventh Ballon d’Or, but he was by no means the favorite.
The Ballon d’Or holder’s chances of claiming a seventh prize were hit by both Barcelona’s failure to win La Liga and their poor form meaning they likely would have needed to raise their game hugely to challenge for the Champions League.
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- Sadio Mane (Liverpool)
Mane finished fourth in the Ballon d’Or rankings last year after a fine season as Liverpool won the Champions League and finished runners-up to City in the English top-flight was praised by Messi that he should’ve been ranked higher last year.
His performance for the Reds this term would’ve propelled him to winning as well. The Liverpool forward has been magnificent as the club ended their 30-year wait for an English league title. His 17 league goals and 9 assists helped the Kop land the title in an amazing manner as Liverpool dominated from last August to date.
Although, Liverpool’s ouster from the Champions League at the last 16 stages by Athletico Madrid might’ve affected his chances he definitely would be in the running in again this year but for France Football’s announcement.
