The ten finalists who will be vying for the chance to be crowned the best player in Europe are now known. France Football revealed the list yesterday and it contains the obvious culprits.
Lionel Messi who is considered to be the favourite to win this award this year heads a list that includes:
Didier Drogba (Ivory coast and Chelsea)
Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon, Fc Barcelona and Inter Milan)
Seven Gerrard (England and Liverpool)
Kaka (Brazil, AC Milan and Real Madrid)
Andreas Iniesta (Spain and FC Barcelona)
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden, Inter Milan and Barcelona)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal, Manchester United and Real Madrid)
Xavi (Spain and Fc Barcelona)
Wayne Rooney (England and Manchester United)
What amazes me about this list is the number of players from Barcelona. Practically half of the names in the list are Barcelona players or have at one time played for the Catalan club. In fact two of their players Ibrahimovic and Messi are the leading goal scorers in La Liga with an impressive 15 goals between them.
The is no doubt that Messi will win this award when the ceremony is held tomorrow however, the likes of Didier Drogba, Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo are bound to ensure that the young Argentine forward experiences a tougher task when these awards come calling next year.
It will take a miracle for Messi not to win this award and you can bet that after tomorrow Europe will have made the right choice in picking ‘the next Maradona’ as its symbol of success and excellence.
