“It’s completely incomprehensible to us that he’s not even among the 30 best players,” said Max Eberl, after France Football revealed its list of nominees for the Ballon d’Or. The French magazine responded to the Bayern Munich sporting director in an interview given this Sunday to the German media outlet Münchner Merkur.
On October 28 in Paris, the 68th Ballon d’Or will be awarded. But before knowing the winner, the 30 contenders were revealed last Wednesday, including four Germans (Toni Kroos, Florian Wirtz, Mats Hummels and Antonio Rüdiger), but without Jamal Musiala.
Like Rodrygo, who was also forgotten from this list, the non-nomination of the German international attacking midfielder caused a reaction. “Jamal (Musiala) was one of the most remarkable players of the Euro, being in the eleven of the competition and (equal) top scorer (with three goals)”, grumbled Max Eberl, in the columns of DPA, before adding: “In addition, thanks to Jamal’s great performances, FC Bayern reached the semi-finals of the Champions League.”
“He scored as many goals as Mathys Tel”
“Great performances”, but not enough, according to Vincent Garcia. Appointed editor-in-chief of France Football in 2023, the Frenchman explained this choice in an interview with the German media Münchner Merkur.
“The fact that Jamal Musiala is not on the list of 30 nominees for the Ballon d’Or does not mean that his talent, which everyone recognises, is in doubt,” he begins. “But the expectations for him were probably higher this year.”
In 2023, the Mannschaft striker was nominated for the Kopa Trophy (rewarding the best young player under 21). In the big league, Musiala now has to face even more competition. But according to Vincent Garcia, other arguments explain his absence. “In my opinion, there are three main reasons why he was not selected by the committee. First of all, his lack of statistics in the Champions League, where he has for example scored as many goals as Mathys Tel (2). This is not enough for a player of his caliber,” explained the editor-in-chief of France Football.
“He also failed to convince in important matches, such as the Champions League semi-final second leg against Real Madrid and the Euro quarter-final against Spain, where his performances were not catastrophic, but rather neutral. Finally, Bayern’s season, which reached its worst position in the Bundesliga since 2011, did not help him either,” he continues.
But don’t worry, at only 21 years old, Jamal Musiala should make his return to the 30 nominees, after his 26th place in 2023, and who knows, perhaps become the successor to Matthias Sammer, the last German to be awarded the Ballon d’Or in 1996.
- RMC Sport
