Yaya Toure
Manchester City’s Yaya Toure is disappointed that he is once again the only African player among the 23 nominees shortlisted for FIFA’s 2015 Ballon d’Or award.
Toure, 32, has been nominated for the award a fifth time, and the four-time African Player of the Year is joined on the list by City teammates Sergio Aguero and Kevin De Bruyne, according to ESPN.
Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo has been recognised as the world’s best player in each of the past two seasons, but Ivory Coast midfielder Toure thinks more African players could have been rewarded with a nomination.
“To be honest, I think that some Africans deserve more light [to be shed on them] and, why not, to feature in this list,” he said. “I know it’s hard to find successors to Didier Drogba and Samuel Eto’o who set the bar very, very high.
“But we should definitely pay more attention to Africans in these circumstances.”
On Monday, Toure expressed “disgust” at a perceived lack of recognition from the English press. He finished as high as 12th in the Ballon d’Or voting in 2012, but feels he should have made the top five in the past.
“I admit it’s quite frustrating,” he said. “I could have shouted my frustration from the rooftops a bit like Eto’o did previously.
“But it’s not my style of working – I don’t want to victimise myself.”
As captain of Ivory Coast, Toure will have a say in who is announced as the winner of the award on January 11, 2016.
The midfielder says he will vote for his former Barcelona teammate Lionel Messi, but added that there should be two Ballon d’Ors named because the Argentina international and Ronaldo are so far ahead of the rest.
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