Ballon d'Or 2022: Shortlist revealed for best men's footballer in world

Ballon d'Or 2022 | Ballon d'Or trophy
(Image credit: David Ramos/Getty Images)

We now know who's in the running to win the Ballon d'Or 2022, after the (really rather long) shortlist was announced on Friday.

The prestigious prize – awarded by France Football to the best men's footballer in the world – will be presented at a ceremony on 17 October in Paris.

And, in a significant shake-up, for the first time ever, the award will be based on players' performances from the previous season and not calendar year.

Here's whose in the running to scoop the iconic spherical gong – as well as the Kopa Trophy (for the best player under the age of 21) and Yashin Trophy (recognising the best goalkeeper) this time around...

Ballon d'Or 2022 nominees

Ballon d'Or 2022 | Karim Benzema of Real Madrid celebrates 2-0 during the UEFA Super Cup match between Real Madrid v Eintracht Frankfurt at the Olympic Stadium Helsinki on August 10, 2022 in Helsinki Finland

(Image credit: David S. Bustamante/Soccrates/Getty Images)
  • Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid & Belgium)
  • Rafael Leao (AC Milan & Portugal)
  • Christopher Nkunku (RB Leipzig & France)
  • Mo Salah (Liverpool & Egypt)
  • Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich & Germany)
  • Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool & England)
  • Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona & Poland)
  • Bernardo Silva (Manchester City & Portugal)
  • Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid & Liverpool)
  • Luis Diaz (Liverpool & Colombia)
  • Karim Benzema (Real Madrid & France)
  • Fabinho (Liverpool & Brazil)
  • Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City & Algeria)
  • Son Heung-min (Tottenham & South Korea)
  • Casemiro (Real Madrid & Brazil)
  • Phil Foden (Manchester City and England)
  • Harry Kane (Tottenham & England)
  • Sadio Mane (Liverpool & Senegal)
  • Darwin Nunez (Liverpool & Uruguay)
  • Mike Maignan (AC Milan & France)
  • Sebastien Haller (Borussia Dortmund & Ivory Coast)
  • Luka Modric (Real Madrid & Croatia)
  • Antonio Rudiger (Real Madrid & Germany)
  • Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United & Portugal)
  • Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City & Belgium)
  • Joao Cancelo (Manchester City & Portugal)
  • Erling Haaland (Manchester City & Norway)
  • Kylian Mbappe (PSG & France)
  • Virgil van Dijk (Netherlands & Liverpool)
  • Dusan Vlahovic (Juventus & Serbia)

Notice one name that's not there? Yep, for the first time since 2005, Lionel Messi has not been nominated for the Ballon d'Or. The 2021 recipient – who's won the award a record seven times in all – didn't make the cut after a thoroughly disappointing first campaign with PSG.

Kopa Trophy 2022 nominees

Ballon d'Or 2022 | Jude Bellingham in action during the Bundesliga match between Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen at the Signal Iduna Park on August 06, 2022 in Dortmund, Germany

(Image credit: Alexandre Simoes/Borussia Dortmund via Getty Images)
  • Karim Adeyemi (Borussia Dortmund & Germany)
  • Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund & England)
  • Eduardo Camavinga (Real Madrid & France)
  • Gavi (Barcelona & Spain)
  • Ryan Gravenberch (Bayern Munich & Netherlands)
  • Nuno Mendes (PSG & Portugal)
  • Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich & Germany)
  • Josko Gvardiol (RB Leipzig & Croatia)
  • Bukayo Saka (Arsenal & England)
  • Florian Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen & Germany)

Yashin Trophy 2022 nominees

Ballon d'Or 2022 | Alisson Becker of Liverpool during the Premier League match between Fulham FC and Liverpool FC at Craven Cottage on August 6, 2022 in London, United Kingdom

(Image credit: Matthew Ashton - AMA/Getty Images)
  • Bono (Sevilla & Morocco)
  • Alisson (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 & France)
Tom Hancock

Tom Hancock started freelancing for FourFourTwo in April 2019 and has also written for the Premier League and Opta Analyst, among others. He supports Wycombe Wanderers and has a soft spot for Wealdstone. A self-confessed statto, he has been known to watch football with a spreadsheet (or several) open...