The organisers of the prestigious Ballon d’Or awards have announced the full list of nominees for the Men’s Player Of The Year award 2022.
There are 30 finalists and Messi being absent from the list is grabbing all the headlines. It’s the first time since 2005 that he won’t be up for a vote. He finished among the top three on 13 occasions between 2006 and 2021.
The new guidelines for the award — individual performance as the primary criteria and career success no longer a factor — are believed to be the main reason that Messi does not find himself among the top 30 players in the world.
Also Read: Asisat Oshoala Nominated For Ballon D’Or 2022 Women Player of The Year Award. (See List)
Messi won the Ballon d’Or last year for a record seventh time, and alongside fellow superstar Cristiano Ronaldo they have shared 12 of the last 13 Ballon d’Or trophies between them.
Ronaldo did make cut in 2022 and now has 18 Ballon d’Or nominations compared to Messi’s 15.
Check Out The Nominees For The 2022 Ballon D’Or Men Player of The Year Award.
Name | Position | Club | National Team |
Trent Alexander-Arnold | DF | Liverpool | England |
Karim Benzema | FW | Real Madrid | France |
Joao Cancelo | DF | Manchester City | Portugal |
Casemiro | MF | Real Madrid | Brazil |
Thibaut Courtois | GK | Real Madrid | Belgium |
Cristiano Ronaldo | FW | Manchester United | Portugal |
Kevin De Bruyne | MF | Manchester City | Belgium |
Luis Diaz | FW | Porto / Liverpool | Colombia |
Fabinho | MF | Liverpool | Brazil |
Phil Foden | FW | Manchester City | England |
Erling Haaland | FW | Borussia Dortmund (now Manchester City) | Norway |
Sebastien Haller | FW | Ajax (now Borussia Dortmund) | Ivory Coast |
Harry Kane | FW | Tottenham Hotspur | England |
Joshua Kimmich | MF | Bayern Munich | Germany |
Rafael Leao | FW | AC Milan | Portugal |
Robert Lewandowski | FW | Bayern Munich (now Barcelona) | Poland |
Riyad Mahrez | FW | Manchester City | Algeria |
Mike Maignan | GK | AC Milan | France |
Sadio Mane | FW | Liverpool (now Bayern Munich) | Senegal |
Kylian Mbappe | FW | PSG | France |
Luka Modric | MF | Real Madrid | Croatia |
Christopher Nkunku | FW | RB Leipzig | France |
Darwin Nunez | FW | Benfica (now Liverpool) | Uruguay |
Antonio Rudiger | DF | Chelsea (now Real Madrid) | Germany |
Mohamed Salah | FW | Liverpool | Egypt |
Bernardo Silva | MF | Manchester City | Portugal |
Son Heung-min | FW | Tottenham Hotspur | South Korea |
Virgil van Dijk | DF | Liverpool | Netherlands |
Vinicius Junior | FW | Real Madrid | Brazil |
Dusan Vlahovic | FW | Fiorentina/Juventus | Serbia |
Also Read: Checkout The Nominees For The Ballon D’Or Goal Keeper Of The Year Award 2022.
Also below is the 2022 Kopa Trophy finalists for the young player of the year award:
Name | Position | Club | National Team |
Karim Adeyemi | FW | Borussia Dortmund | Germany |
Jude Bellingham | MF | Borussia Dortmund | England |
Eduardo Camavinga | MF | Real Madrid | France |
Gavi | MF | Barcelona | Spain |
Ryan Gravernberch | MF | Ajax | Netherlands |
Josko Gvardiol | DF | RB Leipzig | Croatia |
Nuno Mendes | DF | PSG | Portugal |
Jamal Musiala | MF | Bayern Munich | Germany |
Bukayo Saka | FW | Arsenal | England |
Florian Wirtz | MF | Bayer Leverkusen | Germany |
The prestigious prizes will be handed out at a glitzy ceremony at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris on Oct. 17.