Barcelona defender Pau Cubarsi no go travel go London for di 2026 Ballon d'Or ceremony. Di 19-year-old centre-back choose to stay back for Spain so him go recover small after di heavy run of matches wey him don play.
Report from Foot Africa, wey quote Spanish newspaper El Mundo, talk say Cubarsi make di decision after him play di full El Clasico wey Barcelona lose 1-2 for di 10th matchday of La Liga. Di defender dey prepare for di next stage of di season, and Deportivo Alavés na di next match wey dey wait am.
So far dis season, Cubarsi don play 10 matches for Barcelona, total 872 minutes, and na only three games him miss. Na dat kind workload make di player and di club decide say recovery go better pass night inside London.
But di night no go bad for am finish, because him name still land well well for di 2026 Ballon d’Or ranking. Di official Ballon d’Or account post for X say Cubarsi finish for 12th place, and dat position make am di highest-ranked centre-back for di whole list.
Him finish come ahead of Gabriel Magalhães wey land 21st, Marquinhos for 25th, Dayot Upamecano for 26th and William Saliba for 29th.
Di ranking dey come out small small. Jude Bellingham of Real Madrid carry 11th spot, just one place ahead of Cubarsi, while Achraf Hakimi of Paris Saint-Germain follow for 13th. Vitinha take 14th, João Neves 19th, Willian Pacho 20th and Nuno Mendes 23rd. Ferran Torres, Vinicius Junior, Marc Cucurella and Declan Rice also show inside di 11th to 29th bracket.
One squad ranking by The New York Times still put Cubarsi among di top names for Barcelona, join body with Lamine Yamal and Raphinha.
For di pitch side, LiveScore report talk say Barcelona stars don hint at one worrying reason behind di El Clasico defeat, as di players tok say dem “have to change.”
