The contenders for the 2022 Ballon d’Or awards have been revealed, after organizers France Football Magazine announced the nominees for each category on Friday.
For the first time in years, seven-time winner and all-time record holder Lionel Messi of Argentina and Paris Saint Germain is not part of the 30-man shortlist for the prestigious award.
For the Men’s Ballon d’Or, the shortlist for Best Male Player of the Year includes: Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid), Rafael Leao (AC Milan), Christopher Nkunku (RB Leipzig), Mo Salah (Liverpool), Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich).
Next up are: Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich), Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Bernardo Silva (Manchester City), Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid), Luis Diaz (Liverpool).
Followed by: Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City), Casemiro (Real Madrid), Son Heung-Min (Tottenham Hotspurs), Fabinho (Liverpool), Karim Benzema (Real Madrid).
The next to be nominated were: Mike Maignan (AC Milan), Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspurs), Darwin Nunez (Liverpool), Phil Foden (Manchester City), Sadio Mane (Bayern Munich).
Followed by: Sebastien Haller (Borussia Dortmund), Luka Modric (Real Madrid), Antonio Rudiger (Real Madrid), Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United), Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City).
The final set of nominees were: Joao Cancelo (Manchester City), Erling Haaland (Manchester City), Kylian Mbappe (PSG), Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool) and Dusan Vlahovic (Juventus).
For the Women’s Ballon d’Or, the shortlist for best Female Player of the Year includes: Selma Bacha (Olympique Lyonnais), Fridolina Rolfo (FC Barcelona), Vivianne Miedema (Arsenal), Lucy Bronze (Barcelona) and Sam Kerr (Chelsea).
Others are: Christiane Endler – Lyon
Lena Oberdorf – Wolfsburg
Catarina Macario – Lyon
Alexia Putellas – Barcelona
Alexandra Popp – Wolfsburg
Aitana Bonmati – Barcelona
Wendie Renard – Lyon
Alex Morgan – San Diego Wave
Beth Mead – Arsenal
Asisat Oshoala – Barcelona
Marie-Antoinette Katoto – PSG
Millie Bright – Chelsea
Trinity Rodman – Washington Spirit
Ada Hegerberg – Lyon
For the Kopa Trophy, which is for the best player aged 21 or below, the nominees are: Karim Adeyemi (Borussia Dortmund/Germany), Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund/England), Eduardo Camavinga (Real Madrid/France), Gavi (Barcelona/Spain).
Others are: Ryan Gravenberch (Bayern Munich), Nuno Mendes (PSG/Portugal), Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich/Germany), Joško Gvardiol (RB Leipzig), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal/England) and Florian Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen).
In the Yachine Trophy Category which is for the Best Goalkeeper, the following have been nominated for the award. They include: Edouard Mendy (Chelsea/Senegal), Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich/Germany), Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid/Slovenia), Kevin Trapp (/Eintracht Frankfurt/Germany), Hugo Lloris (Tottenham Hotspurs/France).
Others are: Yassine Bounou (Sevilla/Moroccco), Alisson Becker (Liverpool/Brazil), Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid/Belgium), Ederson (Manchester City/Brazil) and Mike Maignan (AC Milan/France).
The 2022 Ballon d’Or Awards Ceremony will hold on October 17th at the Théâtre du Châtelet in France.
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