Juventus defenders Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci finished 13th and 14th respectively in the 2021 Ballon d’Or rankings.
The Bianconeri stalwarts made the top 30 shortlist for the award after the pair helped Italy to the European Championship crown in the summer. They also remain significant cogs in Turin, despite Juventus’ woes over the past year.
The Old Lady have had six winners of the most prestigious individual award, with Pavel Nedved being the latest recipient in 2003. Zinedine Zidane, Roberto Baggio, Michel Platini, Paolo Rossi and Omar Sivori have also claimed the Ballon d’Or while representing Juventus.
We're half way through our ranking... what about a break? 😎 #ballondor pic.twitter.com/6BQOPocbHQ
— Ballon d'Or #ballondor (@ballondor) November 29, 2021
The two defenders were never going to win the 2021 award, although 13th and 14th-place finishes are more than respectable.
Other Serie A stars were also among the top 30 for this year’s award. Nicolo Barella was rather harshly voted in 26th despite his stellar 2021 for both Italy and Scudetto winners Inter Milan. His club teammate, Lautaro Martinez, finished 21st while AC Milan defender Simon Kjaer, recognised for his heroics that helped save Christian Eriksen’s life, ranked 18th.
Former Calcio superstars Gigi Donnarumma, now of Paris Saint-Germain, and Cristiano Ronaldo, who reunited with Manchester United in the summer, have finished in the top ten. Ronaldo failed to claim his sixth Ballon d’Or during his time at Juventus, but claimed second place in 2018 and third in 2019. The Portuguese great isn’t expected to win in 2021 despite topping the Serie A scoring charts for the 2020/21 season.
The winner will be announced by France Football later on Monday night with Lionel Messi the favourite to claim his seventh Ballon d’Or crown after guiding Argentina to the Copa America title in July.
Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski, Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah and PSG’s Kylian Mbappe are also in contention.