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A player who was sold by Mikel Arteta last year has finished higher in the 2024 Ballon d'Or rankings than any of his former Arsenal teammates.
Four Arsenal players were named in the final Ballon d'Or rankings. Martin Odegaard was the highest ranked Arsenal representative, but he was joined by Bukayo Saka, William Saliba and Declan Rice.
So, the awards ceremony in Paris was a great showing for Arsenal players. It is impossible to argue that Arsenal players did not deserve the recognition. The Gunners have one of the best squads in the world, after all.
Despite their own recognition, it was bittersweet to see a former Arsenal player make the rankings. In fact, he ranked higher than his former Arsenal teammates.
Player sold by Mikel Arteta finishes higher in Ballon d’Or than Arsenal teammates
As revealed by 90min, former Arsenal player Granit Xhaka finished higher in the 2024 Ballon d'Or rankings than any Arsenal player. The Bayer Leverkusen midfielder finished 16th in the standings.
Obviously, Granit Xhaka has achieved huge success since leaving Arsenal in 2023. He returned to the Bundesliga and in his first season, beat Bayern Munich to the title. Oh, it's probably worth mentioning that Leverkusen went the entire season unbeaten too?
However, the sale of Granit Xhaka is not one which Mikel Arteta regrets. After all, the Swiss international was bound to make way, having already etched himself into the Arsenal history books.
Granit Xhaka went through a turbulent time at Arsenal. Signing as a young player with plenty of promise, he became club captain. Then, he lost the love of the Emirates Stadium faithful, cussing the crowd after being taken off.
For a brief period of time, it seemed that Granit Xhaka's career at Arsenal was down and out. However, having Mikel Arteta as the manager certainly helped Xhaka.
He didn't reclaim his captaincy but he did reclaim his love from the Arsenal fans. A brace in his final match and a standing ovation personified this.
So, it is impossible to deny Granit Xhaka of his rightful position in the 2024 Ballon d'Or rankings. Beating Bayern Munich to the league title takes some doing, let alone to do so without losing a single game.
There is a feeling that Granit Xhaka's chapter at Arsenal is not completely closed. One would imagine he is welcome back in North London for a coaching role sometime in the future.