The 2022 Ballon d'Or will crown the best footballers in the men's and women's game from the 2021/22 season on Monday, during the 66th edition of the men's award and fourth edition of the women's.
Taking place on Monday October 17, the 2022 Ballon d'Or is being hosted at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, and the best footballers from the 2021/22 season will be in attendance, all hoping they are stood with the golden ball at the end of the night.
Indeed, the format has changed for the 2022 Ballon d'Or. Gone are the days when the award encompassed an entire calendar year - now, it focuses on each season, which ran from August 1, 2021 to July 31, 2022, hence the earlier-than-normal awards ceremony this year.
In addition to announcing the Men's Ballon d'Or award, the Women's winner, Kopa Trophy (presented to the best performing player under the age of 21) and the Yashin Trophy (recognising the best goalkeeper) will also be revealed.
How to watch Ballon d'Or 2022: What channel is the Ballon d'Or ceremony on?
The Ballon d'Or 2021 ceremony will be broadcast on Eurosport's app and website.
French sports daily L'Equipe will also carry the live broadcast on its channels.
The gala event will be held on Monday October 17, with the ceremony running from 7.30pm to 11pm BST. It will be conducted in French and English, and the aforementioned channels will show all of the action.
Who are the nominees for the Ballon d'Or?
The nominees for the Ballon d'Or were announced in August. A shortlist of 30 names in the men's will be voted on, while the women's consists of 20 players. A top three will be announced on Monday.
The men's Ballon d'Or 2022 nominees are:
Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)
Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)
João Cancelo (Manchester City)
Casemiro (Real Madrid - now Manchester United)
Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid)
Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)
Luis Díaz (Porto & Liverpool)
Fabinho (Liverpool)
Phil Foden (Manchester City)
Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund - now Manchester City)
Sébastien Haller (Ajax - now Borussia Dortmund)
Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur)
Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich)
Rafael Leão (AC Milan)
Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich - now Barcelona)
Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City)
Mike Maignan (AC Milan)
Sadio Mané (Liverpool - now Bayern Munich)
Kylian Mbappé (PSG)
Luka Modrić (Real Madrid)
Christopher Nkunku (RB Leipzig)
Darwin Núñez (Benfica - now Liverpool)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus & Manchester United)
Antonio Rüdiger (Chelsea - now Real Madrid)
Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
Son Heung-min (Tottenham)
Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Vinícius Júnior (Real Madrid)
Dušan Vlahović (Fiorentina & Juventus)
The women's Ballon d'Or 2022 nominees are:
Selma Bacha (Lyon)
Aitana Bonmati (Barcelona)
Millie Bright (Chelsea)
Lucy Bronze (Manchester City - now Barcelona)
Kadidiatou Diani (PSG)
Christiane Endler (Lyon)
Ada Hegerberg (Lyon)
Marie-Antoinette Katoto (PSG)
Sam Kerr (Chelsea)
Catarina Macario (Lyon)
Beth Mead (Arsenal)
Vivianne Miedema (Arsenal)
Alex Morgan (Orlando Pride - now San Diego Wave)
Lena Oberdorf (Wolfsburg)
Asisat Oshoala (Barcelona)
Alexandra Popp (Wolfsburg)
Alexia Putellas (Barcelona)
Wendie Renard (Lyon)
Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit)
Fridolina Rolfo (Barcelona)
Who are the favourites for the Ballon d'Or?
According to the bookies, there can only be one winner for the men's award. That man? Karim Benzema.
Champions League knockout round hat-tricks against Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea helped Real Madrid to the Champions League final, where they eventually saw off Liverpool, while his golden boot in La Liga enabled Real Madrid to complete the double.
Benzema also scored in the Nations League final for France, helping his country win yet more international silverware.
Meanwhile, Alexia Putellas is the favourite to win the women's award and take home the crown in consecutive years. Despite missing Euro 2022 through injury, the Spaniard performed at a ridiculously high standard for her club Barcelona throughout last season, scoring 28 goals in all competitions from midfield on route to winning Liga F.
She and Barcelona narrowly missed out on a treble, too, reaching the Women's Champions League final where they were eventually beaten by Lyon.
Chelsea's Sam Kerr and Arsenal's Beth Mead both have very promising chances of winning the Ballon d'Or Feminin, though, after both enjoyed outstanding seasons - Kerr mainly for Chelsea while Mead earned plaudits with England.
