New Delhi: Germany’s new captain, Joshua Kimmich, has remarked on the criteria for the Ballon d’Or after it left out his national and Bayern Munich teammate Jamal Musiala. Despite having an impressive season for both his country and club, Musiala was ultimately excluded from the final 30-player list for the 2024 Ballon d’Or.
Germany’s Nations League campaign started with a 5-0 win against Hungary. It is a big-margin win for Julian Nagelsmann’s side. Musiala again rose to the occasion and delivered three assists and even scored the second goal for Germany. Speaking to the media later, Kimmich expressed his surprise at Msiala’s exclusion from the Ballon d’Or list and failed to understand the criteria.
✨🇩🇪 Three assists, one goal tonight for Jamal Musiala.
Kimmich: “I don’t know what criteria are used to decide the Ballon d’Or list”.
“The best players should actually be on this list. And Jamal is definitely one of them”.
“He showed that again today”, says via @kerry_hau. pic.twitter.com/nRXXg9UuR6
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) September 7, 2024
Bayern Munich have themselves expressed their “bafflement” at the decision to snub the 21-year-old. Though there is no official statement from the football award committee, it is likely that Musiala’s comparatively few goals in the Champions League were one of the factors that contributed to the exclusion.
Musiala’s side didn’t have the best season after Munich failed to win a single trophy in the season, the first since the 2011-12 season. However, he has been a major find for Germany as they rebuild their team, which has seen multiple retirements since Euro 2024. The tournament has reignited Germany’s status as a dominant team in the world of football despite bowing out of the tournament in the quarter-finals to eventual title winners Spain.
Kimmich was all praises for his team after their win over Hungary, as he captained the side for the first time. Germany will next play Netherlands who themselves won their opening game 5-2 over Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Kimmich expressed his disappointment at teammate Musiala’s snub from Ballon d’Or final 30 list despite the latter’s impressive season with his country and club. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
