The two players were rumoured to have been named among others for the top prize at the beginning of the month, but now appear to have fallen out of the race
Ghana’s Andre Ayew and Christian Atsu both failed to make the official 23-man shortlist set to vie for the prestigious 2015 Fifa Ballon d’Or.
The duo were reported by Spanish news outlet Mundo Deportivo early October to have been included in a 59-man preliminary list, alongside Japan’s Shinji Okazaki, David Ospina of Colombia and Arsenal, Paolo Guerrero of Peru, Chile’s Gary Medel and Australia midfielder Massimo Luongo.
The preliminary list led to a series of criticism of the football governing body, particularly on social media, considering the performances of some of the players included.
While Atsu is as yet to make a Premier League debut for Bournemouth after joining the side on loan in the summer from Chelsea, players such as Ospina and Okazaki have barely produced the sort of performances known to be worthy of such a glorious recognition.
Atsu, however, produced a spectacular performance at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea, winning the Player of the Tournament as well as the Goal of the Tournament awards.
Ayew’s recognition, on the other hand, saw little questioning following his impressive start to life in England, having netted three goals in his first four league appearances after joining Swansea from French side Marseille in the summer.
Currently on four goals after nine matches, Ayew also won the Marc-Vivien Foe trophy for the Best African Player of the Season in Ligue 1 while playing in France.
On the international level, Ayew was a joint-top scorer at the 2015 Afcon with three goals.
Cote d’Ivoire and Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure is the only African in the official 23-man list for the Ballon d’Or.
Both Atsu and Ayew have been named among a list of candidates by Caf for the African Footballer of the Year accolade.
