The Ballon d’Or is set to have only its second new winner since 2007 tonight with Lionel Messi not on the shortlist for the men’s award and Cristiano Ronaldo not among the contenders.
Over the past 15 years, only Luka Modric has broken through Messi and Ronaldo’s dominance of world football’s top individual honour – with the Croatia midfielder winning the prize in 2018.
Robert Lewandowski missed out on the 2020 prize when it was cancelled due to Covid-19, but it is now Modric’s Real Madrid team-mate Karim Benzema who stands as favourite after the club’s Champions League triumph last season.
In the Ballon d’Or Feminin, Barcelona star Alexia Putellas remains favourite to retain her prize despite missing out of the Euro 2020 finals due to injury, but England’s Beth Mead and Chelsea’s Sam Kerr could also be contenders. Here’s everything you need to know.
When is the Ballon d’Or?
The Ballon d’Or 2022 ceremony will take place on Monday 17 October. It will begin at 7:30pm BST at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, France.
How can I watch it?
The ceremony will be broadcast live on L’Equipe’s YouTube channel.
Who is nominated for the men’s award?
- Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)
- Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)
- João Cancelo (Manchester City)
- Casemiro (Real Madrid)
- Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid)
- Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)
- Luis Díaz (Porto, Liverpool)
- Fabinho (Liverpool)
- Phil Foden (Manchester City)
- Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund)
- Sébastien Haller (Ajax)
- Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur)
- Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich)
- Rafael Leão (Milan)
- Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
- Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City)
- Mike Maignan (Milan)
- Sadio Mané (Liverpool)
- Kylian Mbappé (Paris Saint-Germain)
- Luka Modrić (Real Madrid)
- Christopher Nkunku (RB Leipzig)
- Darwin Núñez (Benfica)
- Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus, Manchester United)
- Antonio Rüdiger (Chelsea)
- Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
- Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
- Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hotspur)
- Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
- Vinícius Júnior (Real Madrid)
- Dušan Vlahović (Fiorentina, Juventus)
Who are the favourites?
- Karim Benzema – 1/20
- Sadio Mane – 12/1
- Mohamed Salah – 14/1
- Kylian Mbappe – 20/1
- Kevin de Bruyne – 25/1
- Robert Lewandowski – 30/1
Who is nominated for the women’s award?
- Selma Bacha (Lyon)
- Aitana Bonmatí (Barcelona)
- Millie Bright (Chelsea)
- Lucy Bronze (Manchester City)
- Kadidiatou Diani (Paris Saint-Germain)
- Christiane Endler (Lyon)
- Ada Hegerberg (Lyon)
- Sam Kerr (Chelsea)
- Marie-Antoinette Katoto (Paris Saint-Germain)
- Catarina Macario (Lyon)
- Beth Mead (Arsenal)
- Vivianne Miedema (Arsenal)
- Alex Morgan (Orlando Pride, San Diego Wave)
- Lena Oberdorf (Wolfsburg)
- Asisat Oshoala (Barcelona)
- Alexandra Popp (Wolfsburg)
- Alexia Putellas (Barcelona)
- Wendie Renard (Lyon)
- Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit)
- Fridolina Rolfo (Barcelona)
Who is nominated for the Kopa Trophy?
Ten players have been nominated for the best performing player under the age of 21:
- Karim Adeyemi (Red Bull Salzburg)
- Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund)
- Eduardo Camavinga (Rennais, Real Madrid)
- Gavi (Barcelona)
- Ryan Gravenberch (Ajax)
- Joško Gvardiol (RB Leipzig)
- Nuno Mendes (Sporting CP, Paris Saint-Germain)
- Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich)
- Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)
- Florian Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen)
Who is nominated for the Yashin Trophy?
Ten players have been nominated for the prize of best goalkeeper:
- Alisson (Liverpool)
- Yassine Bounou (Sevilla)
- Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid)
- Ederson (Manchester City)
- Hugo Lloris (Tottenham Hotspur)
- Mike Maignan (Milan)
- Édouard Mendy (Chelsea)
- Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich)
- Jan Oblak (Atlético Madrid)
- Kevin Trapp (Eintracht Frankfurt)
