Ballon d’Or 2022 Nominees: Check Full 30-Man Shortlist Named by France Football for Top Award
The 30-man shortlist for Ballon d'Or 2022 was named and the nominations was about some obvious choices and some interesting exclusions. Lionel Messi, a seven-time winner of the award, wasn't included in the list of nominees.
France Football on August 12, named its 30-man shortlist for the Ballon d'Or 2022 award and there were a few surprises in store for fans. Seven-time and record champion Lionel Messi was not included in the nominees' list for this award for the first time since 2005. Along with him, his PSG teammate Neymar too missed out on the list after an underwhelming campaign for PSG last season. On the flip side, on expected lines, Karim Benzema was included after a stellar show for Real Madrid last term. As a matter of fact, the France striker is undoubtedly a hands-on favourite to win the award for the very first time in his career. Lionel Messi MISSES OUT on Ballon d’Or 2022 Shortlist As France Football Names Nominees for Top Award
Former Bayern Munich and current Barcelona star Robert Lewandowski too has made the list after another solid campaign for the Bavarian giants last season. Along with him, the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Mohamed Salah, Erling Haaland and Harry Kane among others, will provide him with some tough competition. The contenders also include Manchester City's Kevin de Bruyne, Riyad Mahrez, Bernardo Silva and youngster Phil Foden.
Check Ballon'd Or Full 30-Man Shortlist:
| Player | Club |
| Thibaut Courtois |
Real Madrid |
|
Rafael Leao |
AC Milan |
| 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/Bayern Munich |
|
Riyad Mahrez |
Manchester City |
| Casemiro |
Real Madrid |
|
Heung-Min Son |
Tottenham Hotspur |
| Fabinho |
Liverpool |
|
Karim Benzema |
Real Madrid |
| Mike Maignan |
AC Milan |
|
Harry Kane |
Tottenham Hotspur |
| Darwin Nunez |
Liverpool |
|
Phil Foden |
Manchester City |
| Sadio Mane |
Bayern Munich/Liverpool |
|
Sebastien Haller |
Dortmund/Ajax |
| Luka Modric |
Real Madrid |
|
Antonio Rudiger |
Real Madrid/Chelsea |
| Cristiano Ronaldo |
Manchester United |
|
Kevin de Bruyne |
Manchester City |
| Dusan Vlahovic |
Juventus |
|
Virgil van Dijk |
Liverpool |
| Kylian Mbappe |
Paris Saint-Germain |
|
Erling Haaland |
Manchester City/Dortmund |
| Joao Cancelo |
Juventus |
The 66th edition of the top award will be held at the Theatre du Chatelet, Paris on October 17. A galaxy of stars would descend in Paris that evening and among them, will be chosen the winner of the men's award for this year.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 13, 2022 09:20 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).