Lionel Messi
France Football have announced the nominees for the 2022 men’s Ballon d’Or, with Europe’s best player set to be crowned at an official presentation ceremony in October.
Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema is the hot favourite for the prize after firing the Blancos to a La Liga and Champions League double last season, but there are plenty of other familiar names also in the running.
Lionel Messi landed a record-extending seventh Golden Ball in 2021. However, the Argentine endured a difficult debut season at Paris Saint-Germain and he looks set to pass the gong on to a new name in two months’ time.
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Check out the full list of nominees below.
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Thibaut Courtois – Real Madrid
Rafael Leao – AC Milan
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Christopher Nkunku – RB Leipzig
Mohamed Salah – Liverpool
Joshua Kimmich – Bayern Munich
Trent Alexander-Arnold – Liverpool
Bernardo Silva – Manchester City
Luis Diaz – Liverpool
Robert Lewandowski – Barcelona
Riyad Mahrez – Manchester City
Casemiro – Real Madrid
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Heung-Min Son – Tottenham
Fabinho – Liverpool
Karim Benzema – Real Madrid
Mike Maignan – AC Milan
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Harry Kane – Tottenham
Darwin Nunez – Liverpool
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Phil Foden – Manchester City
Sadio Mane – Bayern Munich
Sebastian Haller – Dortmund
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Luka Modric – Real Madrid
Antonio Rudiger – Real Madrid
Cristiano Ronaldo – Manchester United
Kevin De Bruyne – Manchester City
Dusan Vlahovic – Juventus
Virgil van Dijk – Liverpool
Joao Cancelo – Manchester City
Kylian Mbappe – PSG
