The initial 59 names will be cut to a 23-man shortlist in December, prior to the awards ceremony in January of next year. FIFA’s Football Committee – with elite members that include UEFA President Michel Platini, Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore, and Pelé, among others – helped to compile the list.
Arsenal’s Ospina may have made the cut, but there was no place for Manchester City’s Joe Hart or Juventus’ Gianluigi Buffon, who won a domestic double with Juventus and helped his side to the Champions League final in June. Manchester City’s David Silva, Real Madrid’s Raphaël Varane, Chelsea’s Nemanja Matic, Bayern Munich’s Philipp Lahm, Barcelona’s Sergio Busquets, Arda Turan, Marco Reus and Douglas Costa are just some of the other surprise omissions.
Barcelona and Real Madrid both have seven players nominated, whilst Juventus have six players included. Manchester City have five players named, although two of these – Kevin de Bruyne and Nicolás Otamendi – were largely included for efforts with their former clubs, Wolfsburg and Valencia respectively.
Only two English players – Wayne Rooney and Harry Kane – made the cut, and it’s the same with Italy that has just Andrea Pirlo and Giorgio Chiellini nominated.
No comments:
Post a Comment