Ballon D’Or 2021: Koulibaly blasts organizers for snubbing Chelsea player

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Ballon D’Or 2021: Koulibaly blasts organizers for snubbing Chelsea player

Senegal defender, Kalidou Koulibaly, has slammed Ballon d’Or organizers for not including his compatriot, Chelsea’s Edouard Mendy in their 30-man shortlist.

Mendy enjoyed a stunning debut season in the Premier League and capped it off by winning the Champions League, as the Blues defeated Manchester City 1-0.

The £22m signing from Rennes has enjoyed a remarkable rise, having made his senior debut with lower league Cherbourg 10 years ago.

He then went on to play for Marseille’s B team, Reims and Rennes.

Koulibaly thinks Mendy should have been recognised on the Ballon d’Or shortlist, which was released last week.

“It’s a real shame that Edou isn’t one of them [on the list].

“He is the first African goalkeeper to win the Champions League.

“We must continue to work and move forward. We have to do the double [the work] of some people to be well judged.

“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 told reporters after Senegal’s 4-1 win over Namibia in a World Cup qualifier.