The organisers of the coveted Ballon d'Or award, France Football, have explained why Neymar was left of their 30-man list of nominees, which was revealed to the public on Monday night.
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The candidates to win the individual accolade for 2019 were revealed across several announcements on Monday, with the likes of Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Virgil van Dijk among the favourites.
While there were a few surprise nominations, such as Tottenham Hotspurs' Hugo Lloris and Paris Saint-Germain's Marquinhos, Neymar was left completely off the list.
France Football, the producers of the accolade, have since cited several reasons for the 27-year-old's absence, one of them being his injury issues over the past year.
Neymar picked up a knock against Strasbourg in a Ligue 1 encounter in January this year, and was subsequently ruled out for a number of weeks.
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Another reported reason for the forward being left out of contention were his actions and insults towards match officials following PSG's exit from the UEFA Champions League by Manchester United at the round of 16 stage last season.
Unhappy at the awarding of a last-minute penalty to the Red Devils, Neymar, who missed the clash through injury, took to Instagram to bash the team of referees who were in charge of that second-leg tie.
The publication also recalled Neymar's incident with a Stade Rennes supporter following Les Parisiens' loss in the Coupe de France final in April, as well as his absence from Brazil's 2019 Copa America-winning team.
France Football also pointed to his "soap opera of the summer", during which he attempted to leave the French champions for a return to his former club FC Barcelona, and, lastly, cited his latest injury as another reason.
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Neymar had previously been named among the nominees for eight years consecutively, but will seemingly have to wait until 2020 to earn his place among the best again.
Do you think Neymar was rightfully left off the list? Let us know in the comments section below.
