Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon almost helped his team win the Champions League last season. It may have been a disappointment in the final against Barcelona after Juventus lost narrowly, but they still ended the season in positive fashion after having lifted two more trophies. After all these successes, the player would have been hoping to make it into the FIFA Ballon d’Or award shortlist. The 59 man strong shortlist was recently announced by FIFA and there was major surprise for the Italian superstar as he did not feature in this list. His agent has come out in criticism of the list.

A number of Juventus players have featured in this list like Paul Pogba, but the agent of Gianluigi Buffon believes that his client should have been the first name among them. Buffon has been praised for his loyalty to Juventus even when the club went into the second division. At 37 years of age, the Italian goalkeeper has showed no signs of ageing and may continue to play for the next few years. No goalkeeper has managed to win the FIFA Ballon d’Or award, but a few have come very close to doing so. Giorgio Chiellini, Alvaro Morata, and Paul Pogba are the Juventus players included in this list.

“I do not know if he would have won, so it has little meaning.But the names that we have [on the list] and the fact that Gianluigi isn’t there, speaks for itself.Name me one goalkeeper who did better than him last season in all competitions,” said Silvano Martina, who is the representative of the 37-year-old goalkeeper. The poor form of Juventus has not resulted in reduced first team opportunities for Buffon, who has featured in all of the league matches so far. Buffon holds the record for being the most expensive goalkeeper in the world.