The last year’s edition of the Ballon d’Or was a show of confusion as a lot of football fans thought Robert Lewandowski was going to win the award, only to see Lionel Messi lift it for the 7th time. Unfortunately for the Argentine, he couldn’t make the 30-man shortlist for the award in 2022. Hence, he couldn’t make Futballnews Ballon d’Or power ranking for this year.
The winner of France Football’s annual award is decided by a combination of votes from football journalists, coaches, and team captains; this year, France Football has altered the criteria.
The most important change is that the 2021/22 season will be used as the voting period rather than the previous year’s performances. Therefore, players won’t be evaluated based on their World Cup performances.
Futballnews, therefore, examines the 5 current favorites to win the 66th edition of the Ballon d’Or as of August 2022 keeping these additional considerations in mind.
Ballon d’Or power ranking (1): Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)
Benzema scored 48 goals and 15 assists in 2021–22. He won the Supercopa of Spain, La Liga, UEFA Nations League, Champions League, and UEFA Super Cup.
Benzema checks all the boxes necessary to win a Ballon d’Or in terms of consistency throughout the season, quantity of outstanding performances, ability to persevere under pressure, and overall trophy haul.
The Real Madrid striker will justifiably receive the Golden Ball at the event in October because no other player came close to having the same impact on the 2021–22 European season as him.
Ballon d’Or power ranking (2): Sadio Mane (Liverpool)
Mane scored 33 goals and five assists in 2021–2022. He won the FA Cup, Carabao Cup, and Africa Cup of Nations.
Since George Weah in 1995, no African player has won the Ballon d’Or; even if this trend is expected to continue, Mane could have done little more to make his case.
He was Liverpool’s go-to player throughout the second half of the season as they pursued an unheard-of quadruple. He won trophies for both club and country.
Ballon d’Or power ranking (3): Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
Salah scored 33 goals and 19 assists in 2021–2022, and won FA Cup and Carabao Cup.
Mohamed Salah reserved his speaking for the field of play as many supporters questioned how he placed seventh in the Ballon d’Or last year.
With 23 goals and 13 assists in the Premier League last season, the Liverpool player improved his performance, and he once again shone in the Champions League. Even though his last performances dipped a bit, Salah still had a strong campaign.
Power ranking (4): Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
Robert scored 57 goals and 12 assists in 2021–2022. He won the DFL Supercup and the Bundesliga.
Robert Lewandowski made sure to leave Bayern Munich on a high note in what turned out to be his final season there.
The 33-year-old Pole once more breached European and German defenses. Last season, he scored an outstanding 35 goals in 34 Bundesliga games and 12 goals in nine Champions League games.
Power Ranking (5): Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain)
Mbappe scored 49 goals and 31 assists in 2021–2022. He won the UEFA Nations League and Ligue 1.
One of the unlikely candidates for the 2022 Ballon d’Or is Kylian Mbappe.
Mbappe thrived for Paris Saint-Germain despite his future being unknown. Amid that, the 23-year-old was the club’s top performer last season, excelling in both the Champions League and Ligue 1. Later, he turned down Real Madrid’s offer to sign a lucrative new contract in France.
Karim Benzema has proven against all odds that he deserves the Ballon d’Or win after an awesome campaign with Real Madrid. Anyone who votes against him better have a compelling argument!
