Sadio Mane Names Chelsea Star Who Should Have Been Included in Ballon d'Or Shortlist

• Chelsea have five players who have been shortlisted for this year's Ballon d'Or award
• The players include Lukaku, Jorginho, Mason Mount, Cesar Azpilicueta, and N'Golo Kante
• However, Sadio Mane believes Edouard Mendy should have also made the list of nominees
• Mendy had a stellar campaign with the Blues and helped the side win the Champions League

Liverpool forward Sadio Mane has described the decision to omit Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy from the Ballon d'Or shortlist as "unacceptable."

The Blues already have five players included in the 30-man shortlist for this year's Ballon d'Or.

Jorginho headline a list of the Blues stars who will be gunning for the prestigious award and will come up against teammates N'Golo Kante, Mason Mount, Cesar Azpilicueta, and Romelu Lukaku.

However, there was no room for keeper Mendy, with Paris Saint-Germain's Gianluigi Donnarumma the only shot-stopper who made the cut.

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Mane has now taken issue with the move to snub Mendy from the list, with the Liverpool ace contending the Chelsea keeper deserved recognition.

Mendy had a stunning campaign with the west Londoners in his debut season with the Stamford Bridge dwellers as he became the first African goalkeeper to win the Champions League.

And when asked about Mendy's commission, Mane said the decision was unacceptable.

"It is unacceptable. I do not understand, these are things to deplore," Metro UK quoted Mane saying.

Mane's sentiments were reiterated by his Senegal teammate Kalidou Koulibaly who described the omission as "real shame."

"It’s a real shame that Edou isn’t one of them," the Napoli defender noted.

"Edou is a very positive person. We talked about it together. He will continue to fight to be part of it. For me, he has a place among these 30 players," he added.

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Tuchel says Jorginho deserves Ballon d'Or

Earlier, Briefly News reported Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has backed Jorginho to win the Ballon d'Or award this year.

Jorginho played a central role in the Blues' stunning Champions League campaign last season which saw them lift the European title after silencing Man City in the final staged in Porto.

The 29-year-old midfielder followed up the success by helping Italy to conquer Europe as they won the 2020 Euros.

He is among five Chelsea players who made the 30-man shortlist for this year's edition of the Ballon d'Or.

Source: Briefly News