Osimhen, Kvaratskhelia Make Ballon d’Or Top Twenty

Victor Osimhen and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia finished in the top 20 in the Ballon d’Or after leading Napoli to their third Scudetto last season.

The Azzurri duo received more votes than the main Inter star, Lautaro Martinez, who won the World Cup and reached the Champions League final, Goal points out. Lionel Messi bested Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappé for his eighth triumph as expected.

The Partenopei striker finished 8th, while the Georgian star 17th. A third key member of the title-winning squad, Kim Min-Jae, ranked 22nd, two positions behind the Inter ace and one ahead of André Onana. Instead, Nicolò Barella was 27th.

Osimhen and Kvaratskhelia combined for 45 goals and 22 assists en route to the Tricolore in 2021/2022. Napoli were eliminated by Milan in the Champions League’s Roud of Eight.

A Serie A player hadn’t cracked the top ten in a few years. Cristiano Ronaldo and Gianluigi Donnarumma finished 6th and 10th in 2020. They had already left Italy to join Manchester United and PSG, though. The Portuguese star grabbed the bottom position on the podium in 2019.

The Italian league last won the Ballon d’Or in 2007 with Milan’s Kaká. Fabio Cannavaro was the last Azzurri representative to lift the award back in 2006, narrowly beating Juventus legend Gianluigi Buffon. Jorginho came in third behind Messi and Robert Lewandowski in 2021.