Ballon D’Or Power Rankings as of April 2022 featuring the likes of Karim Benzema, Robert Lewandowski, and others
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France Football has recently introduced new changes to the criteria for the Ballon D’Or award starting 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 unlikely that Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo will not win it this year. The Argentine and Portuguese stars have had a stronghold over the award, winning the award 12 times in the past 13 years in which it has been awarded, the exception being Luka Modric in 2018.
Let’s have a look at the Ballon D’Or top 5 rankings as it stands till the month of April.
#5 Sadio Mane
- Club: Liverpool FC
- Country: Senegal
- Games: 36
- Goals: 18
- Assists: 2
Although he only has 20 GA this season with Liverpool and Senegal in 36 games, his contributions cannot be overlooked. He has led his Senegal team to an AFCON victory where his team defeated Egypt on penalties after a 1-1 draw. He has also been involved in some of the most important goals Liverpool has scored this season.
This is the reason he has still kept his place (and earned a spot on our top 5 list for Ballon D’ Or rankings) in the Liverpool starting XI even though new signing Luis Diaz is in red hot form with Portugal.
#4 Mohamed Salah
- Club: Liverpool
- Country: Egypt
- Games: 38
- Goals: 28
- Assists: 10
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.
Mohammed Salah was #3 on Ballon D’Or rankings for March. Still, 38 GA in 38 games this season for Liverpool and Egypt is an impressive feat nonetheless and this is why he is still #4 on the Ballon D’ Or rankings because there is a long way to go and he can still overturn his deficit.
#3 Kylian Mbappe
- Club: Paris Saint Germain
- Country: France
- Games: 38
- Goals: 28
- Assists: 20
48 GA in just 38 games this season for PSG and France is an impressive number but 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 already 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, even though it may be Ligue 1 only, but a title nonetheless.
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 another title in Paris in order to compete with other names this time around, though. But for now, he’ll have to be content with being at #3.
#2 Robert Lewandowski
- Club: Bayern Munich
- Country: Poland
- Games: 40
- Goals: 46
- Assists: 4
28 goals in his first 25 Bundesliga matches. 12 goals in his first eight Champions League games, including the fastest-ever hat-trick in a 7-1 rout of Red Bull Salzburg in the UCL Round of 16. By now, these numbers are routine for Robert Lewandowski.
For some, the Pole, missing out on the last two awards last year – one due to COVID, one due to Messi – is a great injustice that needs correcting this season. FC Bayern Munich is storming to another title, one of the favorites for the Champions League but no World Cup victory 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 for 3 seasons in a row?
But his numbers still aren’t good enough to be the #1 pick who has stormed to the spot he previously called his own.
#1 Karim Benzema
- Club: Real Madrid
- Country: France
- Games: 36
- Goals: 37
- Assists: 13
A second-half hat-trick against PSG and then another one against Chelsea in the UCL Round of 16 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. As of now, he has scored 37 goals and provided 13 assists, taking his GA to 50.
Real Madrid was very inconsistent last season but still made a Champions League semi-final, with Benzema stunning the watertight eventual winners, Chelsea, with a sumptuous goal along the way. It’s likely that the Los Blancos venture just as far this time beating PSG and Chelsea on the way, courtesy of 2 of King Karim Benzema’s hat-tricks 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.
50 GA in just 36 games this season for Real Madrid and France is absolutely out of the world and the fact he has 2 hat-tricks to his name in the UEFA Champions League this season against tough opponents like PSG and Chelsea certainly makes him the top contender for Ballon D’ Or as of April.
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Aryan Sharma
(95 Articles Published)