The French newspaper “France Football” awards the Ballon d’Or on Monday evening. Who has the best cards in the race for the coveted trophy?
sport.de accompanies the events leading up to and the gala 8:30 p.m in the live blog.
+++ Bellingham and Musiala get nothing +++
And the winner is: Gavi from FC Barcelona! “I feel very honored. I want to thank my family, as well as Barca academy and my teammates,” said the midfielder. Thus, the coveted trophy goes to Catalonia again. Borussia Dortmund’s Jude Bellingham and Jamal Musiala are left empty-handed. Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen was also among the nominees.
+++ Ronaldo and Pedri bring the Kopa trophy to the stage +++
Accompanied by Brazil icon Ronaldo, Barcelona’s Pedri brings in the Kopa trophy. The Spaniard won in 2021 ahead of Jude Bellingham and Jamal Musiala. Who clears this time?
+++ Chelsea icon Didier Drogba together with Sandy Heribert +++
Didier Drogba leads through the evening together with Sandy Heribert, both now enter the stage. Alongside the nominees, the former world-class forward also welcomes some of the legends who are in the audience today. Zinédine Zidane doesn’t let the event be taken away, nor does the Brazilian icon Ronaldo.
+++ The ceremony begins! Andrea Bocelli sings “Nessun dorma” +++
The festive ceremony has begun. Italian singer Andrea Bocelli provides the appropriate setting by singing Turandot’s “Nessun dorma” – an aria popular with football fans arguably since the 1990 World Cup in Italy.
+++ Formula 1 star makes noise +++
It’s getting noisy in front of the Theater du Châtelet in Paris: racing driver Esteban Ocon from the French team Ocon drives up in his Formula 1 car. The Ballon d’Or is strapped to the top!
+++ Which awards will be given? +++
In addition to the Ballon d’Or award for the men, the award for the best woman is of course also on the program tonight. VfL Wolfsburg’s Alexandra Popp is among the nominees, with defending champion Alexia Putellas from FC Barcelona being the favourite.
In addition, the Kopa trophy is awarded for the best player under 21 years of age. Jamal Musiala from FC Bayern and Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen as well as Jude Bellingham and Karim Adeyemi from Borussia Dortmund have been nominated. Champions League winner Eduardo Camavinga from Real Madrid has the best chance.
The Yashin Trophy is awarded to the best goalkeeper of the past season. Kevin Trapp from Eintracht Frankfurt and Manuel Neuer from Bayern Munich have hopes.
The Müller Trophy, named after Bayern club icon Gerd Müller, honors the player with the most goals for club and national team. It was first awarded in 2021, when Robert Lewandowski won.
Last but not least, there is the Socrates Prize, which goes to those players who have made a special contribution in social terms.
+++ Ronaldo as far back as he was last in 2005 +++
Cristiano Ronaldo is not allowed to have a say in the awarding of the Ballon d’Or this year. The Portuguese was only 20th – he hasn’t done so badly since 2005. That was when he was nominated for the first time.
By the way: Lionel Messi didn’t even make it into the top 30 footballers.
+++ The top favorite enters the hall +++
Karin Benzema is considered by many to be the favorite to win the 2022 Ballon d’Or. The Frenchman won the league and Champions League with Real Madrid last season. His impressive tally: 44 goals and 15 assists in 46 competitive games.
Unlike in the past, “France Football” no longer evaluates performance in the calendar year, but from the previous season.
+++ Mané welcomes Drogba +++
Bayern Munich’s Sadio Mané has arrived in Paris. The Senegalese greets former Chelsea superstar Didier Drogba on the red carpet. The Ivorian will host the evening together with Sandy Heribert.
+++ Trapp and Goulart appear +++
Eintracht Frankfurt goalkeeper Kevin Trapp and his girlfriend Izabel Goulart don’t miss the ceremony in rainy Paris and walk the carpet to great applause. Trapp had played for PSG for several years before moving to SGE in 2019. With Frankfurt he sensationally won the Europa League in 2021/22.
Like Bayern Munich’s Manuel Neuer, Trapp is nominated for the award for best goalkeeper. Real Madrid’s Thibaut Courtois is the favourite.
+++ The other placements +++
The next rankings will be published: 12th place goes to Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City), 11th is Heung-min Son (Tottenham Hotspur).
The remaining nominees in alphabetical order:
Karim Benzema
Thibaut Courtois
Kevin De Bruyne
Erling Haaland
Robert Lewandowski
Sadio Mane
Kylian Mbappe
Luka Modric
Mohammed Salah
Vinicius Jr.
+++ BVB newcomer in 13th place! +++
Borussia Dortmund’s summer newcomer Sébastien Haller takes 13th place in the Ballon d’Or 2022 poll. The evening in Paris will certainly be very special for the centre-forward, as a malicious testicular tumor was discovered in him shortly after moving from Ajax Amsterdam to BVB. After the successful operation, the Ivorian started chemotherapy. Ajax had scored 34 goals in 43 competitive games in 2021/22.
Rafael Leao (AC Milan) and Fabinho (Liverpool FC) share 14th place.
+++ The schedule +++
Places 16 to 30 have already been announced, what’s next?
From 6.50 p.m. the red carpet opens, on which numerous football greats will gather. The ceremony will begin at 8:30 p.m.
Meanwhile, Borussia Dortmund’s new signing Sébastien Haller has arrived in Paris. The Ivorian is one of the nominees, but has not yet been able to play for BVB due to a testicular tumor diagnosed in the summer.
+++ The first official rankings are coming in +++
“France Football” announces the first standings! The two German internationals Joshua Kimmich and Antonio Rüdiger didn’t make it to the top.
The DFB duo shares 25th place with Darwin Núnez (Liverpool FC), Christopher Nkunku (RB Leipzig), Joao Cancelo (Manchester City) and Mike Maignan (AC Milan).
Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden (both Manchester City) are 22nd along with Trent Alexander-Arnold, Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur) is 21st.
Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United), who won the Ballon d’Or in 2008, 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017, is 20th. His teammate Casemiro shares the rank with Dusan Vlahovic (Juventus) and Luis Diaz (Liverpool). 17th place. His teammate Virgil van Dijk finished 16th.
+++ Leak from Spain +++
A few hours before the gala in Paris, the Spanish sports newspaper “mark” have found out who will win the coveted Ballon d’Or. According to this, Karim Benzema will hold the trophy in his hands.
His team-mate Thibaut Courtois is said to take the Best Goalkeeper award, while FC Barcelona midfielder Gavi scoops the Kepa Trophy for Best Young Star.
According to “Marca”, the Spaniard Alexia Putellas can be happy about the women, who would win for the second time in a row.
+++ Bayern star among the top 3? +++
As the Senegalese journalist Papa Mahmoud Gueye reports, Bayern Munich’s Sadio Mané has legitimate hopes of winning the Ballon d’Or. The attacker was present at the award ceremony in Paris in the evening, reports the “Bild”.
Mané had just won the Africa Footballer of the Year award a few months ago. In addition to the Bayern star, Karim Benzema from Real Madrid, Robert Lewandowski from FC Barcelona, Erling Haaland from Manchester City and Kylian Mbappé from Paris Saint-Germain can also have hopes.
+++ New rules for the Ballon d’Or +++
There are a number of innovations to the Ballon d’Or this year.
- While in previous years performance within a calendar year was taken into account, this time performance within a season counts.
- Only representatives of the top 100 countries in the FIFA rankings are entitled to vote.
- The overall career of a player is no longer a criterion. In addition to individual performance, titles won and fair play considerations also play a role.
+++ Benzema clear favorite +++
Real Madrid’s France international Karim Benzema is the clear favorite to start the Ballon d’Or race in Paris on Monday. Vice European champions Alexandra Popp can count on chances for women. There is also a choice of three players from European champions England or defending champion Alexia Putellas from Spain.
+++ The 30 nominees +++
Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich)
Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
Christopher Nkunku (RB Leipzig)
Rafael Leao (AC Milan)
Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid)
Luis Diaz (Liverpool)
Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona)
Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid)
Trent Alexander Arnold (Liverpool)
Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City)
Casemiro (Real Madrid)
Heung Min Son (Tottenham)
Fabinho (Liverpool)
Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)
Sadio Mane (Bayern Munich)
Phil Foden (Manchester City)
Darwin Nunez (Liverpool)
Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur)
Mike Maignan (AC Milan)
Luka Modric (Real Madrid)
Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
Antonio Ruediger (Real Madrid)
Sebastien Haller (Borussia Dortmund)
Erling Haaland (Manchester City)
João Cancelo (Manchester City)
Kylian Mbappe (PSG)
Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Dusan Vlahovic (Juventus)
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