Who won the Ballon d’Or 2022? Shortlist, favourites, latest odds, date and past winners

Nicholas Hughes

• Updated: 18 Oct 2022 08:23 BST
• 15 min read

The Ballon d’Or is world football’s biggest and most high profile individual prize, with one winner crowned as the best player on the planet for each calendar year.

The current holder of the Ballon d'Or is Karim Benzema.

Bayern Munich's Sadio Mane finished second, with Man City's Kevin De Bruyne coming third.

Ballon d’Or 2022 Rankings

The sport's top stars compete for the award every year in a bid to shine above all others to ultimately win the golden ball.

Here at FootballTransfers, we’ve got you covered with everything you need to know for the 2022 Ballon d’Or ceremony.

What is the shortlist for the 2022 Ballon d’Or?

Long before the winner of the award is announced, a shortlist of players who are in the running is released for the voters across the world to choose from.

The shortlist for the 2022 Ballon d'Or, as well as the shortlists for all the other prizes, was announced on Friday, 12 August.

The shortlist featured 30 players that impressed with their performances at club and international level.

The 2022 Ballon d’Or shortlist

This 30-man list is later cut down to a final three-man shortlist.

Who is the favourite to win the 2022 Ballon d’Or?

Karim Benzema was the red-hot favourite at 1/33 going into the ceremony after his Champions League heroics against PSG, Chelsea and Manchester City led Real Madrid to glory last season.

Erling Haaland has moved up to second in the race at 12/1 after a brilliant start to the 2022-23 season, in which he has broken record after record and already scored 20 goals in 14 games for new club Manchester City.

PSG's Kylian Mbappe has been hitting the headlines off the pitch and has fallen to third at 16/1, despite his own fantastic start to the campaign.

Liverpool winger Mohamed Salah is in fourth - his bad start to the campaign will have contributed to this despite a fine campaign last time around and he is at 25/1.

Another Liverpool player, Virgil van Dijk, is a somewhat surprise fifth favourite at 30/1, despite his own struggles this season.

Robert Lewandowski, now of Barcelona, is after the defender at 33/1 and is sixth favourite to win the award.

Ex-Liverpool and new Bayern Munich forward Sadio Mane is seventh favourite, coming in at 33/1 after helping Senegal win the Africa Cup of Nations earlier in the year.

Also at 33/1 is Kevin de Bruyne, having been Man City's star man over the last year, while the likes of Vinicius Jr. and Harry Kane are the same.

Cristiano Ronaldo is a multi-award winner of the Ballon d'Or but is a long-shot at 40/1 this year.

Pedri, Neymar, and Harry Kane are even longer shots at 50/1.

Lionel Messi does not have a price after he was not shortlisted for the first time in 17 years.

What are the 2022 Ballon d'Or rule changes?

The Ballon d'Or has undergone several big changes for its 2022 award. The most significant is the new schedule for the prize. While before it has been judged based on the calendar year (January to December), that has now been changed in accordance with the regular football season (August to July).

It means a player's entire season will be judged upon, rather than two half-seasons. As a result, the 2022 Qatar World Cup will influence the 2023 Ballon d'Or award, instead of the 2022 edition due to taking place in the winter.

The shortlisting process has also experienced a change. It was previously drafted by journalists working for France Football and L'Équipe, but that has now been altered.

Ballon d'Or ambassador Didier Drogba will now help to finalise the shortlists as well as the "most insightful voter" from the previous edition of the award. For the men's 2022 edition, Vietnamese journalist Truong Anh Ngoc, working for The Thao & Van Hoa, will have a say in the shortlist while Czech journalist Karolina Hlavackova, working for Ruik, will help finalise the 2022 Women's shortlist.

There has also been changes to the voting system. While 127 jurors, one from each country, were part of the process to decide the winner in 2021, that has now changed.

Now, only the top 100 ranked countries in FIFA's coefficient will be able to have one representative conduct their vote. This has been to eliminate the weakest footballing countries to ensure a fair method of voting didn't include too many people and votes from nations with a perceived lower level of football expertise didn't make an impact.

France Football have also cleared up the rules of how the award the victor. "The Ballon d'Or is an individual award. Also, logically, criterion number 1 will focus primarily on individual performance and the decisive and impressive character of the contenders.

"Since football remains a collective sport despite everything, criterion number 2 will focus on collective performance and the record accumulated during the season. Finally, criterion number 3 will concern the class of the player and his sense of fair play. Because setting an example also counts. The most attentive will have noticed the disappearance of the 'player's career' criterion. A way of considering the race for the Ballon d'Or as an open competition, and not as a preserve."

It has placed focus primarily on a player's individual season, with trophies as part of a team not as important.

How is the Ballon d’Or decided and who votes?

The initial 30-man shortlist is compiled by the editors at France Football, the organisers of the event, as well as Drogba and one selected journalist. Once that list has been completed, a selection of international journalists – one representative from the top 100 nations – and national team coaches and captains come together to decide the winner.

They are each asked to choose their top five players from the 30 selected, and order them from first to fifth based on: individual and collective performances during the year, player class and an overall view of the player’s career.

The player who is selected as the winner by each of the selection panel is awarded six points, second-place is given four points, down to one point for fifth place.

The total points for each player from every journalist, coach and captain are then added together to decide third, second and first place.

When does the 2022 Ballon d’Or ceremony take place?

The 2022 Ballon d'Or ceremony will be held on Monday, 17 October in Paris, France.

The Ballon d’Or is a now an award that celebrates the achievements of a player over one football season rather than a calendar year, so the date of the ceremony has been brought forward compared to its date of November 29 in 2021.

Where will the 2022 Ballon d’Or ceremony be?

Given that the award is now back being run by France Football, the ceremony will be held in Paris at the Theatre du Chatelet.

The 2019 and 2021 galas also took place here, so it appears that the Ballon d’Or has found its home.

Who will present the 2022 Ballon d’Or ceremony?

It’s customary for major football award nights and competition draws to feature a famous ex-professional player to help host the event.

The Ballon d’Or is no different, and Chelsea hero Didier Drogba has hosted the last two Ballon d’Or ceremonies alongside French journalist Sandy Heribert, and the pair could be called upon again.

Who won the 2021 Ballon d’Or?

Messi claimed a record seventh Ballon d’Or crown in 2021, owing to a superb second half of the 2020/21 season at Barcelona.

The Argentine racked up 30 goals and 10 assists in 29 matches in all competitions after the turn of the year, almost single-handedly propelling Barca to a La Liga title that had looked impossible earlier in the campaign.

READ MORE: Who won the Ballon d’Or 2021? Shortlist, favourites, latest odds, date and hosts

He followed that up by finally lifting the first international trophy of his career, with his four goals and five assists also securing him the Golden Boot and Player of the Tournament honours at the Copa America.

Messi beat challengers Lewandowski, Jorginho and Benzema to the award, taking him two clear of long-time rival Ronaldo.

Why was the 2020 Ballon d’Or cancelled?

The 2020 Ballon d’Or was controversially cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. The pause in world football in March 2020 caused uncertainty over whether games would be played and if the season would be finished.

Indeed, both Ligue 1 and the Eredivisie ended their seasons early due to the pandemic, while international competitions like Euro 2020 were postponed.

The Ballon d’Or was cancelled on 20 July 2020, with France Football revealing the reason it would not be held was due to the “lack of a sufficiently level playing field” caused by the virus.

They added: "We did not want to put an indelible asterisk on the prize list as ‘a trophy won in exceptional circumstances due to the health crisis of Covid-19’.

"Protecting the credibility and legitimacy of such a prize also means guaranteeing its irreproachability over time."

Bayern Munich’s Lewandowski was the favourite for the award had it not been cancelled.

The Pole was widely considered the deserving winner of the award and there has been a campaign in the footballing world to award him what is perceived to be a deserved accomplishment.

Between the 2019/20 and 2020/21 seasons, Lewandowski had an absurd 101 goals and 18 assists in 85 club games, helping Bayern to the Champions League title in 2020 and also winning the FIFA Best Men’s Player award.

Upon receiving the 2021 Ballon d’Or, Messi acknowledged that Lewandowski should have the 2020 award in his trophy cabinet.

"Robert, you deserve your Ballon d’Or. Last year, everyone was in agreement to say that you were the big winner of this award," he said.

Who has won the most Ballon d’Or trophies?

Lionel Messi has won the most Ballon d’Or trophies in football history. The former Barcelona forward has come out on top seven times.

The Argentina star won the first of his seven trophies in 2009. Further triumphs followed in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015 and 2019 before his most recent victory in 2021.

Cristiano Ronaldo is next in the standings with five wins. There are three players who have each come out on top three times.

They are Michel Platini, Johan Cruyff and Marco van Basten.

How many Ballon d’Or trophies has Lionel Messi won?

Seven. As well as his record number of victories, Messi has finished in second place for the Ballon d’Or five times and in third position once, giving him 13 appearances in the top three.

How many Ballon d’Or trophies has Cristiano Ronaldo won?

Ronaldo has won the Ballon d’Or five times in his illustrious career.

He claimed his first in 2008, with further successes coming in 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017.

The Portugal star has also recorded six second-place finishes as well as coming third once.

He finished sixth in 2021.

What is the Kopa Trophy?

The Kopa Trophy is an award that recognises the best-performing player under the age of 21, and was first introduced in 2018. The award is voted for by former Ballon d'Or winners.

The award is named after Raymond Kopa, a French footballling legend that won three European Cup titles with Real Madrid and won the Ballon d'Or in 1958.

Just like the Ballon d'Or, the Kopa Trophy was cancelled in 2020 so it has only been given out three times, with three different winners on each occasion.

Kylian Mbappe won the inaugural award after helping France to win the World Cup before Matthijs de Ligt claimed the prize in 2019 on the back of Ajax's outstanding Champions League campaign.

Pedri is the current holder of the award after a stunning breakout season at Barcelona in 2020-21 that also saw him play a pivotal role for Spain at both the Euros and the Olympics.

The 2022 Kopa Trophy shortlist

The 2022 Kopa Trophy shortlist features just 10 players who will compete to win the final award. The list is as follows.

What is the Yashin Trophy?

The Yashin Trophy is awarded to the world's best goalkeeper each year, and is aptly named after Russian Lev Yashin, who is considered by many to have been the best goalkeeper of all time.

Just like the Kopa Trophy, former Ballon d'Or winners cast a vote to decide the winner, and the first award was won by Liverpool's Alisson Becker in 2019.

Gianluigi Donnarumma was rewarded for a remarkable Euro 2020 campaign by winning the 2021 Yashin Trophy, just the second time the honour has been given out.

The 2022 Yashin Trophy shortlist

Just like the Kopa Trophy, there are 10 players shortlisted for the Yashin Trophy.

What is the Women’s Ballon d’Or?

Alongside the men’s award, there is also a women’s Ballon d’Or that was introduced in 2018.

Like the men’s award, journalists from around the world vote for who has been the best player in the world during the calendar year. Lyon striker Ada Hegerberg won the inaugural women’s Ballon d’Or in 2018 and Megan Rapinoe lifted the prize in 2019.

The women’s ceremony was also cancelled in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Barcelona and Spain midfielder Alexia Putellas won the 2021 award.

The 2022 Women's Ballon d'Or shortlist

While there are 30 names shortlisted for the men's award, there are just 20 players who are up for the women's Ballon d'Or in 2022.

What was the FIFA Ballon d’Or?

The Ballon d’Or has been its own award since 1956, but between 2010 and 2015, it merged with FIFA’s ‘World Player of the Year’ award to form the FIFA Ballon d’Or.

The FIFA World Player of the Year had been an award between 1991 and 2009, with both Ronaldo Nazario and Zinedine Zidane winning it three times, before it joined with the Ballon d’Or in 2010.

Messi won the first-ever joint award, and retained it in 2011 and 2012 as well, with Cristiano Ronaldo winning successive awards in 2013 and 2014, before Messi won the final iteration of the award in 2015.

For 2016, FIFA and France Football parted ways, with the Ballon d’Or back to being its own independent award. FIFA, meanwhile, resurrected its previous award under a new name: The Best FIFA Men’s Player.

Lewandowski is the current holder of this award after winning it in 2021.