It is no longer news that Karim Benzema conquered the 2022 Ballon d’Or in a glamorous award ceremony held in Paris on Monday night, October 17, but how did the other 30 players fair in the 2022 Ballon d’Or Ranking?
Last season, Benzema’s 44 goals helped Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid team win the Champions League and La Liga, and he also took home the most coveted individual accolade in sports.
Thibaut Courtois, the finest goalkeeper in the world and winner of the Yashin Trophy, finished in eighth place of the 2022 Ballon d’Or Ranking.
Vinicius Junior, the winner of the Champions League came in eighth, followed by Luka Modric in ninth and Casemiro in seventeenth.
Real Madrid’s new signing Antonio Rudiger, who had a standout campaign for Chelsea last year, finished in the 25th place.
Cristiano Ronaldo, five-time winner of the Ballon d’Or who scored 18 goals in 31 games for Manchester United the previous season, finished 20th.
Although Liverpool came up just short of winning the league, Mohamed Salah, who also had the most assists last year, is featured as the joint-top scorer in the Premier League. He finished 5th in the 2022 Ballon d’Or ranking.
Salah’s Team-mates Trent Alexander-Arnold placed 22nd, Luis Diaz finished 17th, Fabinho finished 14th, Darwin Nunez finished 25th, while Virgil van Dijk finished 16th.
Tottenham was represented by Son Heung-Min (11th) and Harry Kane (21st).
Rafael Leao of AC Milan finished 14th, and Mike Maignan, who last year won the Serie A championship, grabbed the 25th spot.
Joshua Kimmich of Bayern Munich and Christopher Nkunku, the 2021/22 Bundesliga Player of the Season, were tied for 25th place. Sadio Mane, a former attacker for Liverpool, came in second.
Robert Lewandowski, who is currently a member of the Barcelona team, received a second nomination for his 48 goals in 44 games last season, which was more than he managed in his 44 outings for Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga and Champions League combined. He finished fourth.
Sebastien Haller, a striker for Borussia Dortmund, finished 13th following a successful season at Ajax in 2021–2022.
Together with his teammate Phil Foden, Bernardo Silva of Manchester City placed 22nd overall.
Joao Cancelo tied for 25th place. Riyad Mahrez came in at number 12, Kevin de Bruyne came in third, and newly acquired Erling Haaland came in at number ten.
Dusan Vlahovic, a Juventus player who began the season at Fiorentina before joining Juventus in January, reached the shortlist. He came in joint 17th place.
Below is the full 2022 Ballon d’Or Ranking
1 – Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)
2 – Sadio Mane (Liverpool/Bayern Munich)
3 – Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)
4 – Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich/Barcelona)
5 – Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
6 – Kylian Mbappe (PSG)
7 – Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid)
8 – Vinicius Jr (Real Madrid)
9 – Luka Modric (Real Madrid)
10 – Erling Haaland (Manchester City)
11 – Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hotspur)
12 – Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City)
13 – Sebastien Haller (Ajax/Borussia Dortmund)
14= Fabinho (Liverpool)
14= Rafael Leao (AC Milan)
16 – Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
17= Casemiro (Real Madrid)
17= Dusan Vlahovic (Fiorentina/Juventus)
17= Luis Diaz (FC Porto/Liverpool)
20 – Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
21 – Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur)
22= Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)
22= Phil Foden (Manchester City)
22= Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
25= Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich)
25= Darwin Nunez (Benfica/Liverpool)
25= Antonio Rudiger (Chelsea/Real Madrid)
25= Christopher Nkunku (RB Leipzig)
25= Joao Cancelo (Manchester City)
25= Mike Maignan (AC Milan)
Final Kopa Trophy Rankings
At the 2022 Ballon d’Or event, Barcelona midfielder Gavi was named the best young player of the year.
Last season, the 18-year-old played 47 times for Barcelona in all competitions and took home the Kopa Trophy as the most promising player under the age of 21.
The award was won by a Barcelona midfielder for the second straight year by Gavi after Pedri did so previous year. Other major contenders for the award included Eduardo Camavinga, Jamal Musiala, and English duo Jude Bellingham and Bukayo Saka.
What is Kopa Trophy?
The best performing association football player under the age of 21 receives the Kopa Trophy. France Football is in charge of organizing it.
Former Ballon d’Or winners choose the recipient of the award, which bears Raymond Kopa’s name in honor of the former French footballer. The Kopa Trophy, however less famous than the Golden Boy, is also available to players from outside of Europe.
Here is the 2022 Kopa Trophy Rankings:
1. Gavi, Barcelona
2. Eduardo Camavinga, Real Madrid
3. Jamal Musiala, Bayern Munich
4. Jude Bellingham, Borussia Dortmund
5. Nuno Mendes, PSG
6. Joško Gvardiol, RB Leipzig
7. Ryan Gravenberch, Bayern Munich
8. Bukayo Saka, ARSENAL
9. Karim Adeyemi, Borussia Dortmund
10. Florian Wirtz, Bayer Leverkusen
