The list of nominees for the 2022 Ballon d’Or has been announced and seven-time winner Lionel Messi has not been named on the 30-man shortlist for the 2022 award.
He did have what was perceived as a disappointing season with PSG, so its not really a surprise. He did play 34 games in total but notched only 11 goals although he did contribute a few assists as well
Ballond’Or
Three clubs have six nominees
Six players from Real Madrid have been named among the 30, including a lot of peoples favourite for the award Karim Benzema, there are also six nominees each from Manchester City and Liverpool.
Again this i snot a surprise considering the trophies and finals those three teams competed in.
Thibaut Courtois – Real Madrid and Belgium
Rafael Leao – AC Milan and Portugal
Christopher Nkunku – RB Leipzig and France
Mohamed Salah – Liverpool and Senegal
Joshua Kimmich – Bayern Munich and Germany
Trent Alexander-Arnold – Liverpool and England
Vinicius Junior – Real Madrid and Brazil
Bernardo Silva -Manchester City and Portugal
Luis Diaz – Porto, Liverpool and Colombia
Robert Lewandowski – Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Poland
Riyad Mahrez – Manchester City and Algeria
Casemiro – Brazil and Real Madrid
Hueng-Min Son – Tottenham Hotspur and South Korea
Fabinho – Liverpool and Brazil
Karim Benzema – Real Madrid and France
Mike Maignan – AC Milan and France
Harry Kane – Tottenham Hotspurs and England
Darwin Nunez – Benfica, Liverpool and Uruguay
Phil Foden – Manchester City and England
Sebastien Haller – Ajax, Borussia Dortmund and Ivory Coast
Luka Modric – Real Madrid and Croatia
Antonio Rudiger – Chelsea, Real Madrid and Germany
Cristiano Ronaldo – Manchester United and Portugal
Kevin De Bruyne – Manchester City and Belgium
Sadio Mane – Liverpool, Bayern Munich and Senegal
Dusan Vlahovic – Juventus and Serbia
Virgil van Dijk – Liverpool and Netherlands
Joao Cancelo – Manchester City and Portugal
Kylian Mbappe – Paris Saint-Germain and France
Erling Haaland – Borussia Dortmund, Manchester City and Norway
Looking at the list above Karim Benzema certainly looks the favourite and my pick. Its a strong field with most players certainly having good seasons.
The process of selection for the Ballon d’Or jury members is changing
◾️ Ballon d’Or Jury > journalists from country part of the FIFA top 100 ranking
The magazine also clarified the criteria for the award. It’s based first on individual performance, then team performance, and finally fair play.
