The Ballon d’Or has as of late shifted to a (much more suitable) format, now reviewing a season rather than a calendar year, and the Cyler d’Or, in parodic fashion, shall follow suit.
This week we put a full stop on this season’s awards with a final ceremony with a countdown starting from thirty. We have seen the top five leagues individually, but we have not seen them together. It’s time to award the 2023 Cyler d’Or. Not any regional variant, this is not just for Ligue 1, or Serie A, or any other league. Worldwide.
Of the thirty man shortlist, twenty-five will be the twenty-five players who received honours during the course of the 2023 Season Awards, giving us a clean split of five players from each of Europe’s top leagues. The remaining five will be handpicked from the players who missed out on the awards.
Let’s see how they stack up.
30-21
Photo by Gongora/NurPhoto via Getty Images
30. Benjamin Lecomte (RCD Espanyol/Montpellier, France)
The French goalkeeper was a complete game-changer for Montpellier, more than halving the amount of goals the team conceded per 90.
29. Przemyslaw Frankowski (RC Lens, Poland)
A Swiss Army Knife of a player, the Polish international was mainly utilised at right wing-back as a crucial part of Lens’ league performances which pushed Paris Saint-Germain to the last week of the season for the title.
28. David Raya (Brentford, Spain)
He may be leaving Brentford this summer but he’s leaving with his head held high after a ridiculous campaign in the Premier League.
27. Éder Militão (Real Madrid, Brazil)
While Real Madrid failed to capture any titles this season, Militão was the main reason defensively that they were in the running for any of them, including a Champions League campaign that ran until the semi-finals.
26. Frederik Rønnow (Union Berlin, Denmark)
Rønnow was the primary reason Union Berlin magic-ed and wished their way into the top four in the Bundesliga, he was simply unbelievable at times with the amount of times he bailed the team out of bad situations and games.
25. Enzo Le Fée (FC Lorient, France)
The 23-year-old is set for a France call-up soon after a world class campaign for Lorient in which he practically put the entire team on his back off and on the ball.
24. Marc-André ter Stegen (FC Barcelona, Germany)
Ter Stegen was instrumental in Barcelona conceding such few goals in the league, even if Spain’s attacks are admittedly quite lacklustre.
23. Ivan Provedel (SS Lazio, Italy)
A touch better was Lazio’s Provedel, who made some insane saves and consistently bailed out an inconsistent Lazio backline which set the base for Lazio finishing second in Serie A.
22. Sergej Milinković-Savić (SS Lazio, Serbia)
‘SMS’ is one of the most complete players in world football, dropping into a deeper role for Lazio and for Serbia but continuing to churn in world class performances week in week out.
21. Pedri (FC Barcelona, Spain)
The Spanish maestro is a top, top player, and one of the best in his position with the potential to be one of the greatest of all time. Excited to see how he matures as a player.
Tune in tomorrow for spots 20-11!
What do you think of my picks? Is there any order you would’ve changed? Let us know in the discussion below.
