Ballon d'Or nominees list leaked: Lewa, the Blues quintet and lots of bystanders alongside

Sure, it's not the easiest job on Earth to pick the 30 best football players in 2021, but the Ballon d'Or nominees list - that has been leaked today - looks really surprising, to put it mildly.

Alongside some certain and deserved nominees, like Robert Lewandowski, Ngolo Kante or Jorginho, there are many other quite weird choices.

Lukaku, Kante and Jorginho are on the list (©Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images)

For example, a chance to win the Ballon d'Or prize still have players that are not even in the starting XI with their current teams. Moreover, there are names of quite decent players that are not great, let alone the best in the world for sure.

Simon Kjaer, Gerard Moreno, Pedri, Nicolo Barella and some other players are worth praise for their skills and abilities, for sure, but there's a line that needs to be drawn between them and those truly outstanding guys.

Among them, the biggest favourites to win the reward are probably the above-mentioned Lewandowski and Chelsea duo Jorginho and Kante (The Blues have a quintet of their players among the nominees - Jorginho, Kante, Lukaku, Azpiliqueta and Mount).

Mo Salah celebrates (©REUTERS/Peter Powell)

When it comes to African nominees, we'll have Manchester City winger Riyad Mahrez and Liverpool striker Mohamed Salah.

Albeit they are on the list, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo - two probably the best players in the last ten or fifteen years - are with a very little chance to clinch another silverware.