Top 5 Candidates for Ballon d’Or 2022

Yes! It’s that time of the year! France Football is set to organize the Ballon d’Or ceremony for 2022. This will be the 66^th annual presentation of the award and will recognize the best footballer for the 2021-2022 season. France Football will present the award for both men and women players along with the Yashin Trophy and Kopa Trophy. However, we will be focusing on the men’s category and the best candidates for Ballon d’Or 2022.

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Nominees

Full shortlist-

Goalkeepers: Thibaut Courtois, Mike Maignan,

Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joao Cancelo, Virgil van Dijk, Antonio Rudiger,

Midfielders: Casemiro, Kevin De Bruyne, Fabinho, Joshua Kimmich, Luka Modric, Bernardo Silva, Christopher Nkunku,

Attackers:, Karim Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo, Luis Diaz, Phil Foden, Erling Haaland, Sebastien Haller, Harry Kane, Rafael Leao, Robert Lewandowski, Riyad Mahrez, Sadio Mane, Kylian Mbappe, Darwin Nunez, Mohamed Salah, Son Heung-min, Vinicius Junior, Dusan Vlahovic.

5. Robert Lewandowski

 Robert Lewandowski had yet another great season for Bundesliga side Bayern Munich where he won their 10^th straight Bundesliga title. He has been the main man up top for Bayern and recently switched alliances with Spanish outfit FC Barcelona where he has maintained his goalscoring instinct.

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4. Mohamed Salah

The solo was in incredible form during the first half of the season, but he slowed down a bit into the second half of the season involving injuries. However, being Liverpool’s key player in attack his performances were not enough to win anything major. They came a scary close though, as they lost the premier league title to Manchester City by just one point and even lost against Madrid in the Champions League final.

3. Kylian Mbappe

Kylian Mbappe last season formed an incredible partnership alongside Neymar Jr and seven-time Ballon d’Or winner himself, Lionel Messi. Not an outstanding season, perhaps as PSG won the Ligue 1 easily. For France, Mbappe was just able to win the UEFA Nations League due to early elimination from the Euros. Statistically, Mbappe was on top-notch form as he ended up as both the top scorer and top assist provider in Ligue 1.

2. Sadio Mane

Sadio Mane had a historic season as he won titles for both Club and Country, something that puts his case ahead of his former teammate in Salah. Mane was determined to lift the AFCON Title and defeated Salah’s Egypt 4-2 on penalties. Now a Bayern Munich player, the Senagalese is a strong case to win the Ballon d’Or and might become the first African player to win the prestigious award after George Weah in 1995.

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1. Karim Benzema

Karim Benzema has been carrying Real Madrid since Ronaldo left in 2018. It was only after the latter’s exit that Benzema got the freedom to exploit and show his true capabilities. What puts him ahead of all candidates is his consistency throughout the season in all competitions. He was absolutely untouchable when it came to performing on the European scene and led Real Madrid to glory. There’s no doubt that this would be Benzema’s turn to claim the prestigious trophy.

Anyone who does not vote for him must have a good reason as to why!