Ancelotti ´surprised´ by Kroos absence from Ballon d´Or nominees

MADRID: Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti on Saturday said he was surprised that German midfielder Toni Kroos did not feature on the list of 30 finalists for the Ballon d´Or.

Five members of the Champions League winning side were nominated on Friday in the shape of Thibault Cortois, Casemiro, Luka Modric, Vinicius Junior and favourite Karim Benzema.

New signing Antonio Rudiger is also on the list but there was no room for the German midfielder Kroos.

"It surprises me a bit, because Kroos had a fantastic season... But it´s true that it could be a problem if we named all the Real Madrid players, I can understand that," quipped Ancelotti in a press conference ahead of Madrid´s Liga opener at Almeria on Sunday.

"But (Federico) Valverde, (Eder) Militao, (David) Alaba... all deserve to be there. "All of them had a fantastic season. I´m not talking about winning the Ballon d´Or, but they deserve to be on the list."