Ronaldo excluded, Salah and Son favorites for the Premier League MVP

A ray of sunshine called CR7, in the middle of the storm that broke out over Old Trafford. Cristiano Ronaldo’s 18 league goals were not enough to straighten Manchester United’s disastrous season. And, surprisingly, not even to nominate the Portuguese for the title of best player of the last Premier season.

the excluded

–

The official website of the English tournament has announced the names of the eight eligible players, who will be voted on by a group of experts and – before that – by the fans and captains of the twenty Premier League teams. The profiles of Salah, Son and De Bruyne stand out, Manè and the former Juve are missing: after having twice won the title of Player of the Month, Ronaldo would have expected anything but a sensational exclusion.

the candidates

–

Although United’s year can now be considered a failure – the Red Devils are sixth, at -8 from the Champions League, with one more match played than their opponents – Cristiano still seemed destined to appear among the eligible MVPs. The list, in fact, also reflects what emerges from the top scorers. There is room for Salah (1st with 22 goals) and Son (2nd), as well as for De Bruyne, author of 15 goals and 7 assists. The Liverpool, Tottenham and City strikers will try to win over Saka, Cancelo and Alexander Arnold, as well as the lesser-rated Ward Prowse and Bowen: the former, Southampton captain, has proved to be a master of free kicks, while the latter has achieved double figures in assists and goals with West Ham.

the other prizes

–

On the Premier League’s Instagram account, the catchphrase of the day therefore appears obvious: “Where is Cristiano?”, We read in the comments under several posts. And while CR7 is stunned, Saka and Alexander Arnold dream of a double triumph. Both, in fact, also aim to win the Young Player of the Season title, dedicated only to Under 23 players: their contenders are young “bigs” like Foden, Mount, Ramsdale and Rice, plus the jewels of the Palace Gallagher and Mitchell. Klopp and Guardiola, rivals in the championship race, will also compete in the chase for the best coach award: Jurgen and Pep appear favorites over Vieira (Palace), Howe (Newcastle) and Frank (Brentford).