Monday evening saw PSG star, Ousmane Dembele, lay his hands on the coveted France Football Ballon D’or. The dynamic forward was crowned the winner after a stellar performance that earned his team the quadruple. A fairytale with a perfect ending for a player, who was termed a “flop” at Barcelona, to achieving PSG’s first UCL and eventually his Ballon D’or.
An evening filled with appreciation and recognition for football stars and their performance throughout the season. But what would a Ballon D’or ceremony be without any controversy surrounding it. Despite the majority being content with the award winner, fans and media are split over the overall ranking of the players. Fans are demanding a better justification and explanation regarding the rankings of a number of candidates.
The biggest shock of the night was seeing Raphinha finish 5th in the rankings. Fans and pundits claim that the Barça forward at least deserved a 2nd position, if not 1st, for the splendid season he had. Cole Palmer’s controversial finish had fans all over the place. The Chelsea man, had a great outing in the Club World Cup final, but seemed unnoticed and hidden for most of the season, lacking impactful performances to even be nominated for the Ballon D’or. Palmer finished 8th, ahead of Pedri (11th) who was instrumental and centre to Barcelona’s domestic treble win and Harry Kane (13th), a player who once again was shattering goal scoring records and won his first ever trophy. PSG’s Donnarumma and Nuno Mendes, despite giving world class performances and winning the quadruple, were placed behind Cole.
Vinicius Junior, a player who finished second last year, in another controversial ceremony, was drawing criticism for only being nominated, after an underwhelming season for a player of his calibre, finished 16th ahead of Robert Lewandowski (17th) who scored 44 goals for Barcelona and Liverpool captain Virgil Van Dijk (28th), who was widely regarded as the best centre back in the world. Michael Olise placed last was a disappointment since he broke out on the biggest stage and was among the top and most consistent wingers across the season.
The Women’s Ballon D’or award drew considerable criticism as well. Aitana Bonmati won her third straight Ballon D’or, making her the most successful player in the category. But her award conferment was dealt with criticism as it was widely believed that Mariona Caldentey had a better shout as she managed to beat her Spanish counterpart in the women’s Champions League final.
Gianluigi Donnarumma (Yashin Trophy), Luis Enrique (Johan Cruyff Award), Lamine Yamal (Kopa Trophy), PSG (Club of the Year Award), were the other recipients of honours. Though little to no criticism was drawn over these recipients, the Ballon D’or rankings faced stern disapproval and setback. Ousmane Dembele’s win served as the only real deal and prevented France Football from another disastrous show.
Aadi's Sports Corner 
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