Copy linkFacebookXPinterestEmailShare this article 0Join the conversationFollow usAdd us as a preferred source on GoogleNewsletterSubscribe to our newsletterSadio Mane was a great player. The phrasing here is deliberate a world in which the Senegalese winger, little more than the Robin to Cristiano Ronaldos Batman in the Saudi Pro League, makes it to the Ballon d'Or 30-man shortlist is not a serious world.Sure, Mane won the Africa Cup of Nations in January of this year. Well, he did, until Senegals trophy was seized and re-distributed to Morocco in a court ruling, months after the fact. Regardless, is that enough?Does the Ballon d'Or really expect us to believe that an underwhelming World Cup, a 10-goal Saudi Pro League season, and a phantom AFCON victory, is enough for fans to accept his place, in 2026 no less, among the worlds top 30 players?Ballon d'Or, how is Sadio Mane in your 30-player shortlist?!Sure, Mane won AFCON's Player of the Tournament that wasnt taken from him. Well, he did, with two pea-roller assists in a Round of 16 clash versus Sudan (gifted to him by glorious efforts from Papa Gueye and Ibrahim Mbaye) and one brilliant strike against Egypt in the semi-final.His claim to making the Ballon dOrs 30-man shortlist begins and ends there. The 34-year-old was named Player of the Tournament not because his play was undeniable, but because he is Sadio Mane. You may like If he wants the Ballon d'Or, he needs to help his teammates France World Cup winner delivers damning Kylian Mbappe verdict Lionel Messi may be undisputed greatest of all time after breaking World Cup record - but that's besides the point Mohamed Salah's move to Trabzonspor is farcical, rage-inducing and a betrayal of himself - given what the Egyptian has said previously It must be stressed, there are other players present in the Ballon Dor 30-player shortlist whose places are near equally undeserved. For example, Julian Quinones and Dayot Upemecano stand out as two such individuals that should be nowhere near France Footballs award.But theres something in Manes inclusion that feels particularly egregious: it speaks directly to the nonsensical criteria that is used to determine which players are nominated for, or even win, the award. For starters, what is the Ballon dOrs obsession with international trophies?Get FourFourTwo NewsletterThe best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.Why is it that international tournament winners in this case, Mane with AFCON are automatically more deserving of a place on the 30-man shortlist, or a higher finish in France Footballs rankings, than players who excelled at club level?That was made clear in 2018, when Lionel Messi, with 48 goal involvements, and Mohamed Salah, with 60 contributions, finished fifth and sixth in France Footballs list respectively.That was the year that Luka Modric somehow left with the Ballon d'Or in his clutches because hed received the Golden Ball in a World Cup tournament. Oh, and Antoine Griezmann managed to bag third. What to read next Why are players scoring so many goals at the 2026 World Cup? The 2026 World Cup highlighted huge problems in modern football - and who's at the heart of them World Cup 2026 Golden Boot power rankings: Can Lionel Messi top the scoring charts? Trophy logic is wildly inconsistent as some of Messis staunchest critics have pointed out, he won the 2019 Ballon dOr with nothing but a LaLiga title to his name, yet his solitary World Cup trophy, and a Ligue 1 title that PSG nearly always win, was enough to supersede a treble-winning Erling Haalands claim in 2023.The same pattern reared its ugly head when Rodri took home the 2024 award, propelled, very clearly, by Spains European Championship victory denying a treble-winning Vinicius Junior.A year later? Winning the treble was now enough for PSGs Ousmane Dembele. He departed with the award, despite Salah and Raphinha clearly having stronger individual seasons, and winning their respective leagues, in tougher conditions.Salah broke the Premier League record for goal involvements, and won the most-competitive top-flight title in Europe, without a single team-mate of his making France Footballs 30-man shortlist.Raphinha racked up a staggering 21 Champions League goal contributions in just 14 games, and contributed to three goals versus Inter Milan, while his team shipped seven goals in a 7-6 aggregate defeat.Elsewhere, Dembele played merely 1,736 Ligue 1 minutes the equivalent of just 19 games. For a so-called individual award, it seems that a players individual season is actually accounted for last, club-level trophies in second, and international silverware in first. That is farcical.Mane is the latest beneficiary of such silly criteria. A mediocre club-level season with Al-Nassr, bagging just 10 goals en-route to Saudi Pro League victory, an average World Cup in which Senegal embarrassingly fell to an historic Belgium comeback, all superseded by an AFCON trophy... that was later taken away from him.And hey, at least he stood on the pitch against Morocco and begged his Senegalese team-mates to return after they stormed off. That gave him fair play points, right, France Football?TOPICSSadio ManeOusmane DembeleLuka ModricRaphinhaMohamed SalahRodriVinicius JuniorErling HaalandLionel MessiAntoine GriezmannKedar BayleySocial Links NavigationFreelance WriterKedar Bayley is a trained journalist specialising in culture reporting. As a fan of Liverpool FC,he writes on the Reds often. Knowledgable about all things sports, cinema and television,you can find his words in Screen International, FourFourTwo, Manchester Evening News and more.
