Several negative repercussions of the Corona virus on football and its match times, which prompted France Football magazine to cancel the golden ball this year, and this decision left a number of players as "victims".
The magazine said it would withhold the award for the first time in its history since it began in 1956 due to the exceptional circumstances and the lack of sufficient justice to choose the winner this year due to the interruption of football activity for a long period of the year for fear of an outbreak of the Coruna epidemic.
The award - which Argentine star Lionel Messi and Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo dominated for a decade - was hoping to win many players who had worked hard and presented distinct levels at the individual level and helped their teams to win titles, but they were shocked by this cancellation.
Few are the players who managed to maintain a high level of performance as Messi and Ronaldo, but this year there were competitors closer to the prestigious award.
Messi (Barcelona): No two disagree that he is a football legend, but this season - in which he scored 25 goals and won the League's top scorer award for the seventh time and made another 21 goals - was not the best in his career, though he is still a candidate to win the prize but Not the favorite.
Ronaldo (Juventus): After a modest start this season, he regained his goal scoring with 30 goals so far, sharing the top scorer in the Italian league with Italian Shiro Imobili, Lazio's top scorer, as he became the fastest player to score 50 goals in the Italian league (in 61 games), as he was the first A player scores at least 50 goals in both English, Spanish and Italian tournaments.
Polish player Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich): The most affected by the decision of the French magazine, the player made an exceptional march this season, as he won with the Bavarian team double league and cup, crowned the Bundesliga top scorer award with 34 goals, and leads the race for the "Golden Shoe" award granted to European league goals , As well as it will be the most prominent elements in the Bayern bid to win the Champions League title.
Belgian Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City): Manchester City's maker of fun and creativity, and Spain's Pep Guardiola depends on him to provide the decisive passes for his team, which reached 18 this season, two decisive passes from the record in one season and recorded in the name of Frenchman Terry Henry, the former star of Arsenal , And is one of the leading candidates for the Premier League Player of the Year award.
Spain's Sergio Ramos and French Karim Benzema (Real Madrid): The duo who actively contributed to Real Madrid winning the League title this season, Benzema with his 21 goals and Ramos with his defensive strength and leadership, not to mention his 11 goals.
The team has not lost in 11 consecutive games since the League resumed after stopping due to the outbreak of the Corona virus, and the two players may be decisive factors in the Royal Journey in the Champions League, especially in coming back the final price of the continental competition and trying to turn the table over the winning city Man 2-1 in the Bernabeu.