Messi snubbed as 30 finalists are unveiled for Ballon d'Or
Lionel Messi, winner of a record seven Ballon d’Or awards, has been left off the list of 30 nominees for the best male player in 2022.
It’s the first time he’s not featured on a Ballon d’Or shortlist since 2005.
Messi, 35, moved to Paris Saint-Germain from Barcelona last summer after winning the Copa America with Argentina. He scored 11 goals and tallied 14 assists for Les Parisiens across Ligue 1 and Champions League play in 2021-22. He ended the season with a Ligue 1 winners medal, in addition to an early-season triumph in France’s Trophee des Champions.
Players from Real Madrid, Manchester City, and Liverpool unsurprisingly feature heavily in the list released by France Football on Friday.
2022 Men’s Ballon d’Or nominees
| Player | Club | Country |
|---|---|---|
| Trent Alexander-Arnold | Liverpool | England |
| Karim Benzema | Real Madrid | France |
| Joao Cancelo | Manchester City | Portugal |
| Casemiro | Real Madrid | Brazil |
| Thibaut Courtois | Real Madrid | Belgium |
| Luis Diaz | Liverpool/FC Porto | Colombia |
| Kevin De Bruyne | Manchester City | Belgium |
| Fabinho | Liverpool | Brazil |
| Phil Foden | Manchester City | England |
| Erling Haaland | Manchester City | Norway |
| Sebastien Haller | Borussia Dortmund/Ajax | Ivory Coast |
| Harry Kane | Tottenham Hotspur | England |
| Joshua Kimmich | Bayern Munich | Germany |
| Rafael Leao | AC Milan | Portugal |
| Robert Lewandowski | Barcelona/Bayern Munich | Poland |
| Riyad Mahrez | Manchester City | Algeria |
| Mike Maignan | AC Milan | France |
| Sadio Mane | Bayern Munich/Liverpool | Senegal |
| Kylian Mbappe | Paris Saint-Germain | France |
| Luka Modric | Real Madrid | Croatia |
| Christopher Nkunku | RB Leipzig | France |
| Darwin Nunez | Liverpool/Benfica | Uruguay |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | Manchester United | Portugal |
| Antonio Rudiger | Real Madrid/Chelsea | Germany |
| Mohamed Salah | Liverpool | Egypt |
| Bernardo Silva | Manchester City | Portugal |
| Son Heung-Min | Tottenham Hotspur | South Korea |
| Vinicius Junior | Real Madrid | Brazil |
| Virgil van Dijk | Liverpool | Netherlands |
| Dusan Vlahovic | Juventus/Fiorentina | Serbia |
Other standout footballers not considered for the 2022 Ballon d’Or include Real Madrid’s Toni Kroos and Manchester City’s Rodri. Neymar, one of Messi’s strike partners at PSG, also missed out.
Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo was included in the nominees, meaning he’s been on every Ballon d’Or shortlist since 2004. The top three of that year were Andriy Shevchenko, Deco, and Ronaldinho.
2022 Women’s Ballon d’Or nominees
England’s Millie Bright, Lucy Bronze, and Beth Mead are under consideration for the Women’s Ballon d’Or after winning Euro 2022 on home soil this summer.
The 20-strong shortlist also includes an American trio of Catarina Macario, Alex Morgan, and Trinity Rodman.
Alexia Putellas, who won the Women’s Ballon d’Or in 2021, was nominated alongside four Barcelona teammates.
| Player | Club | County |
|---|---|---|
| Selma Bacha | Lyon | France |
| Aitana Bonmati | Barcelona | Spain |
| Millie Bright | Chelsea | England |
| Lucy Bronze | Barcelona/Manchester City | England |
| Kadidiatou Diani | Paris Saint-Germain | France |
| Christiane Endler | Lyon | Chile |
| Ada Hegerberg | Lyon | Norway |
| Marie-Antoinette Katoto | Paris Saint-Germain | France |
| Sam Kerr | Chelsea | Australia |
| Catarina Macario | Lyon | United States |
| Beth Mead | Arsenal | England |
| Vivianne Miedema | Arsenal | Netherlands |
| Alex Morgan | San Diego Wave | United States |
| Lena Oberdorf | Wolfsburg | Germany |
| Asisat Oshoala | Barcelona | Nigeria |
| Alexandra Popp | Wolfsburg | Germany |
| Alexia Putellas | Barcelona | Spain |
| Wendie Renard | Lyon | France |
| Trinity Rodman | Washington Spirit | United States |
| Fridolina Rolfo | Barcelona | Sweden |
Kopa Trophy nominees
The Kopa Trophy, presented since 2018 to the best player under the age of 21, features six nominees who were also in the running for last year’s award.
Spaniard Gavi will be looking to follow in the footsteps of compatriot and Barcelona teammate Pedri, who claimed the honor in 2021.
| Player | Club | Country |
|---|---|---|
| Karim Adeyemi | Borussia Dortmund/Red Bull Salzburg | Germany |
| Jude Bellingham | Borussia Dortmund | England |
| Eduardo Camavinga | Real Madrid | France |
| Gavi | Barcelona | Spain |
| Ryan Gravenberch | Bayern Munich/Ajax | Netherlands |
| Nuno Mendes | PSG | Portugal |
| Jamal Musiala | Bayern Munich | Germany |
| Josko Gvardiol | RB Leipzig | Croatia |
| Bukayo Saka | Arsenal | England |
| Florian Wirtz | Bayer Leverkusen | Germany |
Yachine Trophy nominees
The Yachine Trophy, named after iconic goalkeeper Lev Yashin, is awarded to the game’s top netminder. Thibaut Courtois, the standout performer in Real Madrid’s victory over Liverpool in last season’s Champions League final, is viewed as the favorite to claim the hardware for the first time in his career.
| Player | Club | Country |
|---|---|---|
| Yassine Bounou | Sevilla | Morocco |
| Alisson Becker | Liverpool | Brazil |
| Thibaut Courtois | Real Madrid | Belgium |
| Ederson | Manchester City | Brazil |
| Mike Maignan | AC Milan | France |
| Edouard Mendy | Chelsea | Senegal |
| Manuel Neuer | Bayern Munich | Germany |
| Jan Oblak | Atletico Madrid | Slovenia |
| Kevin Trapp | Eintracht Frankfurt | Germany |
| Hugo Lloris | Tottenham Hotspur | France |
