SPOILER: Rooney and five huge names who failed to make Goal 50 Nov 6, 2016 10:00:10 The 2016 Goal 50 will fe...
SPOILER: Rooney and five huge names who failed to make Goal 50
The 2016 Goal 50 will feature the Creme de la Creme
of the footballing elite - but five superstars won't be in the upcoming
countdown...
50 GOAL
Under-fire Manchester United star Wayne Rooney is one of five footballing superstars who has been snubbed from next week's Goal 50.
The annual list, which recognises and ranks the world's 50 best footballers of the past 12 months, begins its countdown on Monday 7 November, with the winner announced four days later.
As always, there are a number of huge names who did not do enough to make our elite list.
Below are five superstars who have been present in recent years, but won't be making an appearance in the 2016 edition.
The world seemed to be at the feet of Eden Hazard when he led Chelsea
to the Premier League in 2014-15, but he endured an indifferent 2015-16
campaign as the Blues failed to even qualify for Europe.His form improved towards the end of the season and he has started well under new Chelsea coach Antonio Conte, but the winger also struggled at Euro 2016 as Belgium underperformed again.
Barcelona centre-back Gerard Pique finished 31st in the 2015 Goal 50, but he has dropped out of this year’s list entirely - despite his side winning the domestic double.
Our panel were not convinced by the form of the Spain star, who disappointed at the Euros and has courted controversy off the pitch.
A face familiar in many households around the world as the cover star of FIFA ‘17, the Dortmund defender was an automatic selection in the Goal 50 only a couple of seasons ago.
Since then, however, the 27-year-old has been dogged by injury problems, and he will be hoping to stay fit following his transfer to Bayern Munich.
The England captain was overlooked for last season’s list and he
misses out again this year after continuing his fall from grace.The 31-year-old is no longer a first choice player for Manchester United under new manager Jose Mourinho, while he failed to shine at Euro 2016 as England were humiliated by Iceland.
A centrepiece of the Paris Saint-Germain side that ran away with
Ligue 1 last season, the Italy international midfielder has nonetheless
dropped out of the Goal 50.He was dogged by injury problems in the first half of the year, which prevented him from making a telling contribution in the Champions League knockouts, and forced him to miss Euro 2016.