Jamal Musiala was perhaps one of the most surprising exclusions from this year’s Ballon d’Or nominations. Despite Bayern Munich’s failure to lift a single trophy in the 2023/24 season, Musiala shone at the European Championship and in the Champions League as the Rekordmeister made it all the way to the semi-finals, losing to eventual champions Real Madrid 4-3 on aggregate.
Speaking after Germany’s 5-0 win against Hungary on Saturday night, Kimmich, Die Mannschaft captain and teammate of Musiala for both club and country, reacted to his compatriots non-nomination.
“I don’t know what criteria is used to decide. Actually, the best players should be on the list and Jamal is definitely one of them. He showed that again today,” said Kimmich.
As reported via Sport1, editor-in-chief of France Football, Vincent Garcia, explained the reasons as to why Musiala wasn’t nominated. These were due to the player’s poor goal rate in the Champions League, his poor performances in decisive games and Bayern Munich poor season overall.
Against Hungary, Musiala scored one and created three. Julian Nagelsmann believes that Musiala, along with Florian Wirtz, will win a Ballon d’Or in their careers.
