Diego Milito Ballon d’Or snub surprises Inter president

Inter Milan president Massimo Moratti admits he is surprised that Diego Milito was not included in the 23-man shortlist for the FIFA Ballon d’Or.

Milito, 31, played a vital role in Inter’s record-breaking treble season last year, scoring 22 league goals in his debut season at the San Siro.

The former Real Zaragoza forward shone during the Italian side’s successful Champions League campaign with strikes in every knockout round capped by an unforgettable brace against Bayern Munich in the final.

Moratti described Milto’s omission from the list as an “incredible decision”.

“I am very sorry for the exclusion of Diego Milito from the list of candidates for the Ballon d’Or,” Moratti said on Wednesday. “I called him to tell him that it’s an incredible decision.”

Milito’s exclusion may be in part down to his limited participation in Argentina’s World Cup campaign, where he only made two appearances after Diego Maradonna opted to utilise alternative attacking options of the likes of Gonzalo Higuain, Carlos Tevez and Lionel Messi.

Despite being left off the list, the forward hopes the award will be won by one of his San Siro team-mates. “I really hope that the Ballon d’Or is won by an Inter team-mate,” he said.

The 23-man FIFA Ballon D’Or shortlist:

Xabi Alonso (Spain); Dani Alves (Brazil); Iker Casillas (Spain); Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal); Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast); Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon); Cesc Fabregas (Spain); Asamoah Gyan (Ghana); Julio Cesar (Brazil); Miroslav Klose (Germany); Philipp Lahm (Germany); Maicon (Brazil); Thomas Mueller (Germany); Arjen Robben (Netherlands); Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany); David Villa (Spain); Xavi (Spain); Carles Puyol (Spain); Andres Iniesta (Spain); Diego Forlan (Uruguay); Lionel Messi (Argentina); Mesut Oezil (Germany); Wesley Sneijder (Netherlands)