Italy has the crown of Europe, Argentina that of South America. But who was actually the best player this season?
After the two major continental tournaments, the season is now over. The question is who will receive the Ballon d’Or’s award for the best player of the season. There is no outstanding candidate this time.
In the last few years the only question that arose mostly was: Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo? Eleven of the last twelve awards went to the two superstars. But this year the race is close SPORT1 has gathered the hottest candidates.
Lionel Messi
The record winner of the Ballon d’Or will have a say again this year about the award – which, in addition to his unique class, has another reason: The Argentine won the Copa America with his home country and thus fulfilled a great dream. Ironically against the great rival Brazil for Neymar, in the legendary Maracana.
Messi played a formidable tournament, leading Argentina to their first national team title with four goals and five assists. He had also previously delivered for FC Barcelona, where the superstar, who is currently without a club, will soon sign a new contract.
The 34-year-old was the top scorer in La Liga with 30 goals and at least won the Copa del Rey with Barca. Again this season, the Ballon d’Or only goes over Messi. For him it would be the seventh time that he has received the award.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Messi’s eternal rival is likely to have fewer chances of winning his sixth Ballon d’Or this year – after all, he has only won one title with the Italian Cup.
However, the Portuguese was the top scorer in Serie A (29 hits) and then also the European Championship. At the European Championships he was at the top of the top scorer list with five goals together with Patrik Schick from the Czech Republic. He also took fewer minutes to score than his fellow striker.
At 36 years old, Ronaldo is still full of juice, he has proven that. But he has not exceeded everything this season, with Portugal he also failed as defending champion in the round of 16 against Belgium.
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Jorginho
Born in Brazil, European champion with Italy. Jorginho is unlikely to regret being naturalized in the country he went to when he was 15. (Report: Italy’s hero who shouldn’t be)
Jorginho is seen in Italy as the new maestro, the legitimate successor to Andrea Pirlo. At the European Championship he pulled the strings in the midfield of the Italians and cleared a lot that the opponents had to throw at the European champions.
With the triumph at Wembley Stadium, he made a dream season perfect. He had already won the Champions League with Chelsea. He is also indispensable for coach Thomas Tuchel in the blues.
The 29-year-old is at the peak of his career, which makes him a serious contender for the Ballon d’Or. You will quickly forget your missed penalty in the European Championship final.
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Harry Kane
It was Harry Kane’s big dream, as captain, to push the European Championship trophy into the night sky in London. Instead, there was sadness and frustration.
“Losing on penalties is the worst,” said Kane, who had safely converted his attempt from eleven meters. The star striker had played a weak group phase, but turned up with four goals in the knockout phase. In the final he plowed a lot and tried to move forward. He did not score a goal in the 120 minutes.
In the Premier League, however, the 27-year-old took the top scorer’s crown with 23 goals. His flaw: Kane has never won a title – that’s exactly why he wants to leave Tottenham Hotspur.
It seems like Kane will have to celebrate a major triumph before he can win the Ballon d’Or.
Robert Lewandowski
The Pole won a lot of titles with FC Bayern, but at the European Championship his home country was already over in the group stage – despite three Lewandowski goals.
The world footballer of the year 2020 has confirmed his brilliant form and scored an unbelievable 48 goals in 40 competitive games for the German record champions. He also cracked the all-time Müller record with 41 goals in the Bundesliga.
Lewandowski has some arguments on his side, but was only able to win one title in the German championship this season
Kylian Mbappé
The European Championship ended with a big disappointment for the up-and-coming youngster – he of all people missed the decisive penalty in the round of 16 against Switzerland, which meant the elimination of the world champions.
For the French, Mbappé did not play a good European Championship overall, but he knew how to convince Paris Saint-Germain. The 22-year-old scored 42 goals in 47 competitive games and showed, especially in the Champions League, that he could succeed Messi and Ronaldo.
Since he did not win a major title, Mbappé may not get away with it this year, but for the next ten years the Ballon d’Or will only be won by him.
Giorgio Chiellini
At the age of 36, Giorgio Chiellini fulfilled a very big dream: his first title with the Italian national team.
During his long career, he has made a name for himself as one of the best central defenders in the world. Star coach José Mourinho once said that he and colleague Leonardo Bonucci can hold lectures at Harvard on central defense.
Chiellini also showed that at the European Championships, where he defended in an incredibly serene manner as captain. He is also a real guy in the football world, as was not only evident when choosing sides with Spain’s captain Jordi Alba.
Chiellini would be an unusual prize winner, but a Ballon d’Or for the Italian would be understood as a prize for his life’s work.
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