Joshua Kimmich has questioned the criteria for the Ballon d’Or after Jamal Musiala’s exclusion from the final shortlist.
Musiala was among the headline omissions from the 2024 shortlist for the award, with the Bayern Munich and Germany midfielder not included on the final 30-player list.
The 21-year-old produced a stunning individual performance as Germany thrashed Hungary 5-0 in their UEFA Nations League opener on Saturday, as Musiala recorded three assists and scored the second goal in a big win for Julian Nagelsmann’s side.
Bayern Munich are said to be ‘baffled’ by the decision to snub arguably their brightest talent and Kimmich, who plays alongside Musiala for club and country, has questioned the decision.
“I don’t know what criteria are used to decide the Ballon d’Or list,” the midfielder said, as per Sky Germany’s Kerry Hau.
“The best players should actually be on this list. And Jamal is definitely one of them. He showed that again today.”
France Football explain Musiala Ballon d’Or snub
France Football chief editor Vincent Garcia has provided his reasoning for Musiala’s omission from the list.
Speaking to the press, Garcia said: “In my opinion, there are three main reasons why he was not selected by the committee. First, his lack of statistics in the Champions League, where he scored as many goals as Mathys Tel, for example. That is too few for a player of his calibre.
“He also failed to convince in important matches such as the Champions League semi-final second leg against Real Madrid or the Euro quarter-final against Spain, where his performances were not catastrophic but rather neutral. Bayern’s season, which saw them finish in the Bundesliga at its worst since 2011, did not help him either. I am sure he will return to this list in the future.”
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