Tomorrow, Monday, France Football will announce the winner of the Ballon d’Or award for the best player in the world for the 2021-2022 season, and the winner of the Women’s Ballon d’Or will also be announced.
The Ballon d’Or ceremony will take place at the Chatelier Theater in the French capital, Paris, starting at 7 p.m. GMT.
The list of nominees for the Ballon d’Or award includes 30 players, namely:
1- Thibault Courtois (Real Madrid).
2- Portuguese Rafael Leao (Milan).
3- German Joshua Kimmich (Bavaria).
4- French Christophe Nkoko (Leipzig).
5- Egyptian Mohamed Salah (Liverpool).
6- Alexander Arlund from England (Liverpool).
7- Brazilian Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid).
8- Portuguese Bernardo Silva (Manchester City).
9- Colombian Luis Diaz (Liverpool).
10- Pole Robert Lewandowski (Bayern/Barcelona).
11- Algerian Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City).
12- Brazilian Casemiro (Real Madrid/Manchester United).
13. Heung Min Son (South Korea) (Tottenham Hotspur)
14- Brazilian Fabinho (Liverpool).
15 Frenchman Karim Benzema (Real Madrid).
16 – Frenchman Mike Minan (Milan).
17- Harry Kane from England (Tottenham).
18- Uruguayan Darwin Nunez (Benfica/Liverpool).
19- Englishman Phil Foden (Manchester City).
20- Senegalese Sadio Mane (Liverpool/Bayern).
21- Ivorian Sebastian Haller (Ajax/Borussia Dortmund).
22- Croatian Luka Modric (Real Madrid).
23- German Antonio Rüdiger (Chelsea/Real Madrid).
24- Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United).
25- Belgian Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City).
26- Serb Dusan Vlahovic (Fiorentina/Juventus)
27 – Dutchman Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool).
28 – Portuguese Joao Cancelo (Manchester City).
29th Norwegian Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund/Manchester City).
30- Frenchman Kylian Mbappé (Paris Saint-Germain).
Benzema is an extraordinary candidate
Real Madrid forward French international Karim Benzema appears to be a standout candidate for this year’s Ballon d’Or, becoming the first Frenchman to win the prestigious award since Zinedine Zidane in almost a quarter of a century.
The 34-year-old scored 44 goals in 46 games in all competitions last season for the Royal Club, including 15 in the Champions League.
In the continental competition, Benzema delivered an exceptional performance against the strongest teams in the tournament, scoring a hat-trick against Paris Saint-Germain in 17 minutes in the second half of the final’s second leg against Chelsea. in England in the first leg of the quarter-finals. He also scored three goals in two semi-final matches against Manchester City to take the team to the final in which they beat Liverpool.
Benzema won the European Union’s UEFA Player of the Year award last August and is enjoying the best period of his career nearly a month before the World Cup.
If he wins, Benzema will become the fifth Frenchman to achieve such success, after Raymond Kopa (1958), Michel Platini (1983, 1984, 1985), Jean-Pierre Papin (1991) and Zidane (1998).
The award used to be based on a player’s performance over the course of the year, but the system has changed to be based on what they offer over the course of the season.
The absence of Messi and the presence of Ronaldo
Last year, Argentina’s Lionel Messi won the Ballon d’Or for the seventh time, improving his record, but he was not a candidate this year after a disappointing first season with Paris Saint-Germain.
The Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo, who has been crowned five times, is present, while the Brazilian Neymar, Messi’s St. Germain colleague, is absent from the list of candidates.
Potias to keep the prize?
Among women, the competition looks even more intense due to the fourth Ballon d’Or, first awarded in 2018.
The final roster of 20 includes three of England’s European Cup winners, including Lucy Bronze and Millie Bright, with Arsenal striker Beth Meade looking the luckiest after scoring six goals in the Continental Championship.
There are also chances that Australian Sam Kerr, Germany’s Lena Oberdorf and Alexandra Pope or Spain’s Alexia Botias could retain the award.
Botias, 28, is currently recovering from a severe knee injury that prevented her from competing in the European Championship with her country and is not expected to play this season.
Botias led Barcelona to domestic league and cup titles and the Champions League final last season.
She was the top scorer in the continental tournament with 11 goals, but Barcelona lost the final to Lyon.
During the ceremony, France Football magazine will present other awards to the best young player, the Lev Yashin Award to the best goalkeeper, as well as a new Socrates humanitarian award in honor of the former Brazilian midfielder.
Source: agencies