Seven Man City Players Feature in GOAL50 Awards - Surprise Omission in List

Football outlet Goal has revealed the results of the 2021 GOAL50 award, which saw Paris Saint-Germain's Lionel Messi crowned the winner ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo in second place.

The awards ranked the 50 best footballers in world football for 2021, with over 14 millions vote cast to determine the rankings in a series of head-to-head battles between fans all over the world.

Manchester City had seven players make the top 50, with Kevin De Bruyne unsurprisingly being the Premier League champions' highest representative, in ninth place. 

Club-record signing Jack Grealish found himself in 39th place, with Germany international Ilkay Gundogan, who enjoyed his most successful season in front of goal, two places higher.

One place above Gundogan was Raheem Sterling, in spite of his inconsistent form over the past year. The England forward's future remains in doubt, with increasing talk of a potential move in January to Barcelona. 

In 29th place was Ruben Dias, a position that may be seen a bit low given the Portugal star was crowned UEFA Defender of the Year and enjoyed a remarkable season at the heart of the Man City defence last season. 

Just above Dias, in 28th, was Riyad Mahrez. The tricky winger has a notoriously faithful Algerian fanbase, which likely helped him earn his place in the top 50.

In 23rd place, the second-highest position for a Man City player, was Phil Foden. The Manchester City academy graduate impressed in the latter stages of the Champions League last season, and has firmly established himself as one of the best young players in Europe.

There were a few fellow City stars who had strong claims to also be represented in the top 50, perhaps most notably Bernardo Silva, who has started the 2021/22 campaign in spectacular form.

Alongside him, John Stones enjoyed an excellent season for City and England at the European Championships, while the likes of Joao Cancelo and Ederson were also more than worthy of consideration.

The top 10 in the list were as follows: 

1. Lionel Messi (PSG)

2. Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)

3. Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)

4. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)

5. Kylian Mbappe (PSG)

6. Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund)

7. Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)

8. N'Golo Kante (Chelsea)

9. Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)

10. Neymar (PSG)