Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard and teammate Bukayo Saka were ranked 28th and 24th respectively in this year’s Ballon d’Or award list.
The pair were below the likes of Manchester United’s Andre Onana and Atletico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann, leaving many supporters on X unhappy with their lowly position in the rankings:
Absolute disgrace. Ødegaard was the best midfielder in the world last season by a mile. And why is Saka so low as well? Its a joke
— 𝓜𝓪𝓰𝓲𝓬𝓪𝓵 Ø𝓭𝓮𝓰𝓪𝓪𝓻𝓭💫 (@_Odegoat8) October 30, 2023
Should have both been higher
— GWCircle (@CircleGw81109) October 30, 2023
They are underated due to our lack of champions league. Hopefully they will have a big jump next season
— Loic (@Fengal104) October 30, 2023
More like 4th & 8th
— Rúnda Arts (@RundaArtsNFT) October 30, 2023
Criminally low ranking. But we know this whole award is a sham anyway
— _H3NDRY 🇬🇧🇺🇦 ❁ (@_H3NDRY) October 30, 2023
Very poor ranking by the rating organisers..playing politics is what i see here.
— ⭕nye〰️u©️hi (@uchendu_ok) October 30, 2023
How are the Ballon d’Or rankings decided?
One journalist each from the top 100 member nations of FIFA are asked to vote on the winner for the Ballon d’Or so fans will have to decide for themselves whether the nomination process is fair.
The fact that Lionel Messi won the award purely based on his performances at the World Cup does suggest that some sort of reform is needed in how votes are cast but people will have differing opinions on that.
Another Arsenal player is up for a prestigious award
Summer signing Declan Rice is one of 12 nominees for FIFA’s Best Men’s Player, along with the likes of Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Victor Osimhen, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Marcelo Brozovic, Kevin De Bruyne, Rodri, Ilkay Gundogan, Julian Alvarez, Bernardo Silva and Erling Haaland.
Public voting for the award has now ended, and the winner will be announced at a ceremony at the beginning of next year.
