France Football, which hosts the Ballon d’Or, released the list of 30 Ballon d’Or candidates on the 5th (Korean time). After the list was announced, fans’ attention was focused on Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The two players were not found on the 30-man candidate list. Messi and Ronaldo were both excluded from the list of 30 candidates for the Ballon d’Or for the first time since 2003.
However, in addition to the two players, there was another player who reacted earlier to the failure to include his candidate in the list. It was Serou Girassi who had the best performance in the Bundesliga last season after Harry Kane.
Guinean striker Girassi is a striker who played for Stuttgart in the 2023-2024 season. Girashi, who was permanently transferred to Stuttgart in the summer of 2023, had a transfer fee of only 9 million euros (approximately 13 billion won) at the time, but showed tremendous performance that exceeded his value.
He also threatened top scorer Harry Kane. Due to a mid-season absence due to injury, he played in 28 league games and scored 28 goals and 2 assists, and scored 30 goals in 30 official games. However, he showed a Kane-level scoring ability per game, scoring 36 goals in 32 league games. Girashi was born in 1996, so he is not very young, but he was evaluated as a top resource in the Bundesliga, receiving attention for his stable competition ability using physical ability, air power, and goal-making ability. This summer, he also successfully transferred to Dortmund, a prestigious club in the Bundesliga.
However, Ghirassi’s name could not be found on the list of Ballon d’Or candidates. In addition to his Kane-level scoring prowess, he helped his former club Stuttgart finish in second place and advance to the European Champions League, but to no avail. In place of Girashi, most of the seats were taken by players who played in Euro 2024, the English Premier League (EPL), and La Liga.
https://m.sports.naver.com/wfootball/article/076/0004190210