Ballon D’Or Power Rankings as of March 2022 with the new changes in rules.
Follow Us
Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi vs Robert Lewandowski
France Football has recently introduced new changes to the criteria for the Ballon D’Or award starting from this year.
As per France Football, they are as follows:
- A change from judging by years to by seasons: decisions will now be based on performances between the traditional season of August and July, rather than calendar years, which used to combine two half-campaigns.
- A change in who puts together the shortlists: Ballon d’Or ambassador Didier Drogba and the journalists who came closer to getting the last year’s results right will be involved in choosing the shortlisted candidates, which runs to 30 for the main award and 20 for the young player and goalkeeper trophy.
- A change in the number of people able to vote: last year saw representatives from 170 countries take part in the process, but from now on only the top 100 countries in the FIFA rankings – and the top 50 for women’s football – will be able to vote.
- A slight tweak to the criteria: as it’s an individual award, voters are being instructed to focus on the players’ individual performances over collective achievements, with fair play and setting a good example also counting towards the overall weighting.
So now, it seems like Messi and Ronaldo will not win it this year. The Argentine and Portuguese stars have had a stronghold over the award, winning 12 of the past 13 times.
Today, we’ll be looking at the top 5 candidates for the Ballon D’or award for the year 2022.
#5 Vinicius Jr.
- Club: Real Madrid
- Country: Brazil
- Games: 37
- Goals: 16
- Assists: 13
21-year-old Vincius Jr has been absolutely incredible this season, bagging 29 GA in just 37 games this season for Real Madrid. With him on the LW, Madrid has always looked very threatening on the counter this season.
He has been so good that he has even taken over the LW position from Eden Hazard, their number 7 and Ronaldo’s replacement.
#4 Kylian Mbappe
- Club: PSG
- Country: France
- Games: 35
- Goals: 25
- Assists: 17
PSG’s European exit has dented his dreams of the golden ball and unfortunately, he’ll only be trying his best to drag France to another World Cup title after the Ballon d’Or has been awarded.
Mbappe at least has an ace up his sleeve, that his Nations League final goal has already decided one 2021/22 trophy. Another, surely, will follow at PSG.
If this award was chosen on ability and talent alone, then Mbappe would surely be in the top two. He might have to score a few more goals and win a title in Paris in order to compete with other names this time around, though. But for now, he is at #4.
#3 Mohammed Salah
- Club: Liverpool
- Country: Egypt
- Games: 34
- Goals: 27
- Assists: 10
The outstanding player in the Premier League this season, Mohamed Salah has gone from strength to strength.
Salah scored 16 goals in 21 Premier League games before going to the Africa Cup of Nations, where he finished as a runner-up, scoring vital goals for Egypt along the way. He’s also notched eight goals in his first seven Champions League games – and with Liverpool expected to go far in Europe, that number can only increase.
With the Ballon d’Or switching to become more aligned with what a player achieves over a single season, there’s plenty of hope for Liverpool fans that their Egyptian King will become only the second-ever African winner after 1995’s George Weah.
#2 Karim Benzema
- Club: Real Madrid
- Country: France
- Games: 33
- Goals: 30
- Assists: 12
A second-half hat-trick against PSG confirmed that Karim Benzema is still a force of nature at 34. The fact he’s scored or assisted in most Real Madrid games this season certainly helps his cause: he hit 20 goals and 10 assists in just his 24th game of the season against Real Sociedad.
Real Madrid were inconsistent last season and still made a Champions League semi-final, Benzema stunning the watertight eventual winners, Chelsea, with a sumptuous goal along the way. It’s likely that Los Blancos venture just as far this time and they’re leading in the Spanish title race, too.
Oh, and Benzema was a part of that Nations League win, too, with a goal in the final. He could be a good bet for the prize this time.
#1 Robert Lewandowski
- Club: Bayern Munich
- Country: Poland
- Games: 33
- Goals: 40
- Assists: 4
28 goals in his first 25 Bundesliga matches. 12 in his first eight Champions League games, including the fastest-ever hat-trick in a 7-1 rout of Red Bull Salzburg. By now, these numbers are routine for Robert Lewandowski.
For some, the Pole missing out on the last two awards – one due to COVID, one due to Messi – is a great injustice that needs correcting this season. Bayern are storming to another title, one of the favourites for the Champions League but no World Cup this summer will certainly harm Lewangoalski’s bid.
Still, there are voters who weren’t convinced by him last time around, which will no doubt play on his fans’ minds for the 2022 prize. Can France Football really complete a hat-trick of ignoring this super striker?
Stay Updated!
Aryan Sharma
(95 Articles Published)