- Nabeel
Phil Foden headlines Manchester City Ballon d'Or nominations
Manchester City have had five outfield players nominated for this year's France Football Ballon d'Or awards, with Ederson nominated for the goalkeeper award, the Yachine Trophy. Pep Guardiola's side have the most Ballon d'Or nominations of any club with five players in the prestigious list, alongside Chelsea.
Ruben Dias (1st Ballon d'Or nomination), Kevin De Bruyne (6th Ballon d'Or nomination), Raheem Sterling (2nd Ballon d'Or nomination), Riyad Mahrez (3rd Ballon d'Or nomination), and Phil Foden (1st Ballon d'Or nomination) have been nominated for the Ballon d'Or this year, with City adding a third Premier League title in four years last term alongside a fourth consecutive League Cup triumph and a first visit to the Champions League final.
De Bruyne, Dias, and Foden were the recipients of individual accolades for their performances last season, with De Bruyne picking up back to back PFA Players' Player of the Year awards, Dias taking home The Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year, the Premier League Player of the Season, Manchester City Player of the Season, and the Champions League Defender of the Season, and Foden receiving the PFA Young Player of the Year and the Premier League Young Player of the Season.
Mahrez enjoyed a fruitful 2020/21 campaign, particularly in the Champions League – proving indispensable for Pep Guardiola in the biggest games in the latter stage of the season, scoring a crucial penalty in the second leg against Borussia Dortmund in the quarter-final and both legs against Paris Saint-Germain in the semi-final as the club progressed to its first Champions League final.
While Sterling's performance levels may have dropped below his usual standards, he played an important role for Guardiola in the 21-game winning run last season and went on to excel at the European Championships for England, earning himself a place in the competition's Team of the Tournament as Gareth Southgate's side reached the final.
FULL NOMINATIONS
Yachine Trophy: Gianluigi Donnarumma, Ederson, Kasper Schmeichel, Edouard Mendy, Thibaut Courtois, Keylor Navas, Emiliano Martinez, Manuel Neuer, Jan Oblak, Samir Handanovic.
Ballon d'Or: Riyad Mahrez, Ngolo Kanté, Erling Haaland, Leonardo Bonucci, Mason Mount, Harry Kane, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Karim Benzema, Raheem Sterling, Nicolò Barella, Lionel Messi, Bruno Fernandes, Pedri, Luka Modrić, Giorgio Chiellini, Kevin De Bruyne, Neymar, Rúben Dias, Lautaro Martínez, Simon Kjaer, Robert Lewandowski, Jorginho, Mohamed Salah, César Azpilicueta, Romelu Lukaku, Cristiano Ronaldo, Gerard Moreno, Phil Foden, Kylian Mbappé, Luis Suárez.
Written by: @NA1907_
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