Biggest omissions from the Ballon d’Or shortlist

France Football released the 30-man shortlist for the Ballon d’Or award given to the world’s best player.
As expected in a EURO year, there are several Portuguese standouts to go with the usual suspects.

There are also some odd omissions.

Alexis Sanchez was Arsenal’s second-leading scorer as the Gunners finished second in the Premier League, and the South American attacker scored three goals as Chile won its second-straight Copa America, this one on American soil. It’s baffling that he’s not on the list.

N'Golo Kante enjoyed a season as the engine of the best story in Premier League history, manning the midfield for Leicester, and followed it up by helping France reach the EURO 2016 final. Pretty good, right?

Javier Mascherano and Ivan Rakitic were key pieces in Barcelona’s run to the La Liga crown despite being limited by the transfer ban. Mascherano followed it up by captaining Argentina to the Copa America Centenario final, while Rakitic starred alongside Ivan Perisic as Croatia won a tricky EURO 2016 group before falling to eventual winners Portugal.

Harry Kane may’ve not been a good choice to take corner for England, but he also was one of the best all-around attackers in the world as Tottenham surged into the Top Four of the Premier League.

With four goalkeepers making the cut, it shows that club success is more important than performance. David De Gea’s season was certainly on the same plane as Buffon, though the latter won the league with Juventus and edged Spain at EURO 2016.

Marcelo, Leonardo Bonucci, and David Silva were also players who succeeded for both club and country and could’ve found their way onto the 30.

The Ballon d'or 30 players shortlist:

1. Sergio Aguero (Manchester City)
2. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Borussia Dortmund)
3. Gareth Bale (Real Madrid)
4. Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus)
5. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
6. Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)
7. Paulo Dybala (Juventus)
8. Diego Godin (Atlético Madrid)
9. Antoine Griezmann (Atlético Madrid)
10. Gonzalo Higuain (Napoli/Juventus)
11. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (PSG/Manchester United)
12. Andrés Iniesta (Barcelona)
13. Koke (Atletico Madrid), Toni Kroos (Real Madrid)
14. Toni Kroos (Real Madrid)
15. Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
16. Hugo Lloris (Tottenham)
17. Riyad Mahrez (Leicester)
18. Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
19. Luka Modric (Real Madrid)
20. Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich)
21. Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich)
22. Neymar (Barcelona)
23. Dimitri Payet (West Ham United)
24. Pepe (Real Madrid)
25. Paul Pogba (Manchester United)
26. Rui Patricio (Sporting Portugal)
27. Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid)
28. Luis Suarez (Barcelona)
29. Jamie Vardy (Leicester City)
30. Arturo Vidal (Bayern Munich)

Source: NBC SPORT