After the list of 30 nominees for the 2023 Ballon d’Or was announced by France Football, some players attracted attention because of their absence such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Marcus Rashford, Sadio Mane or Neymar.
CRISTIANO RONALDO
By choosing to join Al-Nassr for the remainder of his career last June, Ronaldo certainly anticipated being absent from the race to win the Ballon d’Or.
Last year, he ranked 20th on the candidate list and this year was absent from 30 nominations, the first time in 20 years. However, the opportunity for CR7 to return to the race is still there if he continues to maintain his high form as at the start of the 2023/24 season.
MARCUS RASHFORD
The English striker had the most explosive scoring season of his career with 30 goals in 56 matches in all competitions. He was the mainstay to help MU win the League Cup and 4th place in the Premier League.
However, Rashford was not on the list of 30 nominations for the 2023 Ballon d’Or Award. This is one of the most unfortunate and confusing absences of this award.
JOHN STONES
The English midfielder had an explosive season at Man City when coach Pep Guardiola adjusted his playing position from centre-back to defensive midfielder.
Stones played extremely well to help the Green Man win the historic treble. However, he is not included in the list of 30 candidates for the 2023 Ballon d’Or like teammates Haaland, De Bruyne, or Julian Alvarez.
SADIO MANE
Joining Al-Nassr with Cristiano Ronaldo this summer, Mane has also determined that it will be difficult for him to compete for major individual titles. Last year, Man ranked 2nd in the Golden Ball race, only behind Karim Benzema.
The Senegalese player had a bad spell at Bayern Munich, where he had to leave just one season after joining. Mane is currently not playing too prominently in the Saudi Pro League.
NEYMAR JR
Neymar certainly disappointed once again. The Brazilian star started well last season but was then hampered by a serious injury that kept him off the field for several months.
The striker left PSG after the 2023/24 season to join Al-Hilal in the Saudi Pro League. This is probably a sign that his career will start to decline.