Ballon d'Or 2016 - who deserves it?

[Reg]

Featuring Leicester (Leicester!) players as Max pointed out:


Mahrez and Vardy on the shortlist for the Ballon d'Or.

I would imagine a lot of people are sick of hearing about the 'fairytale' and so on, I am myself to a certain extent. But then things just happen and you have to pinch yourself again. Two Leicester City players up for the Ballon d'Or, two players I watched play for us in the Championship no less. Okazaki to win it next year obvs.

The maximum poll number is 10, so we'll have to make do without.

Here's the shortlist: (http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/37748717)

Sergio Aguero (Manchester City), Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Borussia Dortmund), Gareth Bale (Real Madrid), Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City), Paulo Dybala (Juventus), Diego Godin (Atletico Madrid), Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid), Gonzalo Higuain (Juventus), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Manchester United), Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), Koke (Atletico Madrid), Toni Kroos (Real Madrid), Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich), Hugo Lloris (Tottenham Hotspur), Riyad Mahrez (Leicester City), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Luka Modric (Real Madrid), Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich), Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Neymar (Barcelona), Dimitri Payet (West Ham), Pepe (Real Madrid), Paul Pogba (Manchester United), Rui Patricio (Sporting Lisbon), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Luis Suarez (Barcelona), Jamie Vardy (Leicester City), Arturo Vidal (Bayern Munich).

Who's your player of the year?

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

De Gea write in.

[Gray Fox]

I think Suarez should win it. Like fuck will he though.

[Spoonsky]

Kante. :nodd:

[Lewis]

It probably should be Luis Suarez, but it will be Ronaldo because of the Champions' League and the internationals (and he won't win another one).

[Spoonsky]

In all seriousness, I don't really know. I haven't really watched enough of the relevant football to know. It seems like Griezmann has contributed the most of anyone; but then he bottled the two most important European games of the year, so who knows.

[Gray Fox]

Ronaldo will win it. Guaranteed.

Champions League and European Championship in the same season. He wasn't at his obscene best, but those 2 alone will see him win it.

[Reg]

Ibrahimovic's inclusion seems based on name alone.

I'm also surprised Payet made it, although he perhaps deserves it.

Not sure who I'd go for. Nobody's reached the ludicrous level that Messi and/or Ronaldo had done for the past seven years or whatever.

[Lewis]

They just start throwing any idiot in after about eight names.

[elth]

Probs Ronaldo beating out Suarez.

[Mazuuurk]

Ibrahimovic's inclusion seems based on name alone.

I'm also surprised Payet made it, although he perhaps deserves it.

Not sure who I'd go for. Nobody's reached the ludicrous level that Messi and/or Ronaldo had done for the past seven years or whatever.


Probably a bit, but I dunno. I'd still say he's one of the top 30 players in the world to be honest. Playing for Sweden he will never have had enough international success or influence to have been able to win it I think (he came top 3 once I seem to remember).

But after all he still won the league and scored 38 goals in 31 games for PSG last season, as well as 5 goals in 10 games in the CL. I know it's the French league, but still. He definitely deserves to be there more based on individual skill than for instance Rui Patricio, and to be honest I'd still take Ibrahimovic over Payet or Vardy in my team for instance, but maybe I'm biased.

[phonics]

I'm not sure why Reg is confused by French journalists voting for Payet and an Ibrahimovic who won PSG the title pretty much single handedly for 3 years running.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Payet was worth it just for that winner against Romania.

[Smiffy]

.....

[Magic]

CR7 without a fucking shadow of a doubt. For Portugal alone. He hauled them to the final.

[Magic]

Eh? He basically single handedly got them to the final.

[Disco]

Did the moth make the list?

[Pen]

I don't think there's any way it should go to anyone else than Ronaldo. When you captain your club and your country to the biggest possible trophies during one season and play a pivotal part in both you will and should win it. Suarez and Kante should probably make up for the rest of the top three, although I think Messi will be there instead of Kante.

[CJay]

Ronaldo didn't captain his club, and did he really play a pivotal part in either of the triumphs? Well, he probably scored a hatful in the champions league group stage.

I thought the overriding feeling was he was very poor at the Euros - hat trick against Hungary aside.

[John]

I thought the overriding feeling was he was very poor at the Euros - hat trick against Hungary aside.

Scored twice in that game, Nani got the other one and matched him for goals over the tournament. He wasn't very poor, but he was far from a one man team and the only game they won in ninety minutes through the whole tournament was the one in which he fucked his knee early on.

Suarez should win it, but Ronaldo's dual triumphs will probably pip him.

[Smiffy]

.....

[Lewis]

He was their best player against Wales, and he captains Madrid really by giving people filthy looks.

[Spoonsky]

CR7 without a fucking shadow of a doubt. For Portugal alone. He hauled them to the final.

Ricardo Quaresma hauled them to the final.

[Adamski]

What a spanking Magics had the last two days.

[Magic]

Quaresma? Well lol at that. That other cunt that was a monster in the semis and final was supposed to but CR7 did it on his own. I'm not going to take footballing lectures from people who think 442 magazine is the hottest opinion around so you can all masturbate yourselves to death over crossing accuracy.

[Max Power]

Pepe was Portugal's best player that tournamnent. They basically won it by being nasty and solid.

[Spoonsky]

Quaresma? Well lol at that. That other cunt that was a monster in the semis and final was supposed to but CR7 did it on his own. I'm not going to take footballing lectures from people who think 442 magazine is the hottest opinion around so you can all masturbate yourselves to death over crossing accuracy.

I was kidding, but he scored the winning goal in the Round of 16 and the winning penalty in the quarterfinals. All Ronaldo did was score a header against Wales of all teams. They were a team built on defensive solidity and incredible luck.

[Reg]

I'd give it to Ronaldo actually.

Champions League - loads of goals in the group stage, two in the second round, and a much needed hat-trick in the quarter-final when Wolsfburg were 2-0 up from the first leg.

Euros - important goals against Hungary (both brilliant goals that nobody else would have scored), a goal against Wales, and a penalty in a shootout.

La Liga - more goals.

[Magic]

Yeah Reg knows what he's talking about. Cheers man.

[Gray Fox]

Didn't Ronaldo also score the winning penalty in the Champions League final?

[Spoonsky]

Look, he probably deserves to win it. But this is lol:


CR7 without a fucking shadow of a doubt. For Portugal alone. He hauled them to the final.

[Jimmy Floyd]

He deserves to win it this year, and thus I hope he loses, just to see the look on his face. This trophy matters to him far, far more than any actual team trophy.

[Lewis]

Barcelona's Lionel Messi, Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo and Antoine Griezmann of Atletico Madrid are contenders for the Best Fifa Men's Player 2016 award.

lol at the shit award name, and lol at Luis Suarez.

[ItalAussie]

This thread just reminded me what incredibly uninspiring champions Portugal were. :(

[Lewis]

Ronaldo won it. What consistency from the man. :cool:

[Manc]

Who was the last defensive player to pick this up?

[Lewis]

Fabio Cannavaro in 2006, after he traded all of his ability to win the World Cup.

[Lewis]

808391528741793792

Seething.

[Pepe]

All he was missing was tax-dodging. He is a complete player now.

[Pepe]

Cannavaro didn't deserve it that year.

[Jeet]

Cannavaro didn't deserve it that year.

Should have been Henry

[Lewis]

He did. He swept the board in Italy (albeit for a team of CHEATS), and he was the best player at the World Cup by an absolute mile.

[Adamski]

808391528741793792

Seething.

It is a bit seethy but he's not wrong.

[Pepe]

he was the best player at the World Cup by an absolute mile.

Zidane was better. Cannavaro just got credit for the whole Italian ultra-defense machine being unstoppable.

[Lewis]

There used to be a system on the Old Board that would have had Ital in here within minutes making the case.

[Pepe]

I remember Ital going bananas over him. I still think Zidane was the better player in the World Cup. Outside the World Cup I have no clue, I could not tell you a single thing about that season.

[Shindig]

Did Zidane not really get going until that semi final?

[Mellberg]

Brazil in the quarters is the game forever referenced.

[Vim]

I think Buffon might have been at the same level of Cannavaro, if not better.

That Graham Hunter doesn't seem to have understood that it's a yearly award.