For well over a decade, the Ballon d'Or has been dominated by two players: Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, such that many fans have become quite bored with the prize ceremony due to its predictable nature.
Croatian international Luka Modric did disrupt things, with the 36-year-old Real Madrid star deservedly winning it thanks to his strong showings for Los Blancos as well as for Croatia at the Vatreni made a shock run all the way to the 2018 World Cup final.
However, this past year saw Bayern ace Robert Lewandowski surprisingly snubbed for the award, which was especially notable as the 33-year-old Polish star was denied the chance to win it in 2020 due to COVID-19, only to somehow miss out as Messi walked away with the prize.
There are certainly other players who, like Lewandowski, have had standout seasons, yet weren't able to get onto the winners' podium, and according to Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola, Bernardo Silva is one of them.
The Portuguese international has been a standout player for City as Guardiola's men look in pole position to not just win the Premier League title but also potentially make it to this year's Champions League final.
With ten goals and four assists in 37 appearances across all comps, he's developed into a key player driving City's success both in England as well as in Europe.
And his performances haven't gone unnoticed, with Brazilian icon Ze Roberto calling him "the best player in the world right now", especially due to his versatility, which has seen him play in a variety of positions for the club this season.
Guardiola himself was full of praise for the 27-year-old, noting to Sky Sports that "[Silva] is an incredibly nice guy. It is a joy to work with him. Offensively and defensively, he can do everything that you can do. [However], he is never going to win the Ballon d'Or because you have to be on social media, you have to not just win but score a lot of goals and Bernardo does not have that."
"Still, if one day it [happens] I would love it, I would be happy for him [and] I would be more than grateful to experience that award with him. For me, as a manager, he can do everything [on the pitch]."
