The end of the year is often the time to present football awards. Few weeks ago, Lionel Messi won the prestigious Ballon d’Or award for the seventh time in his illustrious career.

So what about its Swedish counterpart, otherwise known as the Guldbollen?

Even though Serie A is the home of two great imports from Sweden, Dejan kulusevski and Zlatan Ibrahimovic both missed out on the award.

According to JuventusNews24, Emil Forsberg was chosen as the best Swedish footballer in 2021.

The versatile player is a pillar for Red Bull Leipzig, and contributed in nine goals for his club last season. He also scored four times in Euro 2020.

Kulusevski was hoping to secure the award following his first season at Juventus. While he wasn’t always a regular starter, he scored the winner for Andrea Pirlo’s side in the Coppa Italia final against Atalanta.

On the other hand, Ibrahimovic lent a big hand for Milan in their revival after making his return to the club.

But after starting the previous campaign with a blistering run, recurring injuries prevented him from leaving his mark on a regular basis for the rest of the season.

Nevertheless, the 40-year-old has already won this award on 12 previous occasions, including 2005, back when was plying his trade at Juventus.