The list for the Ballon d’Or was revealed this week, but transfer expert Fabrizio Romano believes that three names were omitted. Here are the names that made it into the final 30:
Still, Romano noted in his column for CaughtOffside that there are a couple of players who should have the final 30. One of them is Paris Saint-Germain loanee Xavi Simons, who had an excellent 2023-24 season while on loan with RB Leipzig.
“I won’t comment on my favorite candidate for this year’s award, but in general I think it was a fair list,” Romano stated. “It’s almost an impossible job to narrow down the names and I’d have probably added Rodrygo, Xavi Simons and [Jeremie] Frimpong. Rodrygo has even gone on social media already to show his feelings about his omission.”
While on loan at RB Leipzig last season, Simons made a strong impression by playing in 43 matches across all competitions. He scored 10 goals and provided 15 assists.