Ballon d’Or 2022: How does the format for the Ballon d’Or work? Changes made to football’s prestigious award

Traditionally, the Ballon d’Or is presented to the best player over a 12-month period from January to December.

However, for this year and beyond, this has changed to the award being based on the previous season. This is the period from August 1, 2021 to July 31, 2022.

“Inevitably, Lionel Messi, with his 15 appearances in a row since 2006, his seven Ballon d’Or victories, his title holder status, weighs very heavily when it comes to the final choice,” France Football’s deputy editor-in-chief Emmanuel Bojan explained.

“The Argentinian was part of the discussions to integrate the 30, but the new criteria for the Ballon d’Or were unfavourable to him: disappearance of the criterion of a player’s entire career, and new periodicity, modelled on a season of football and no longer over a calendar year, which does not make it possible to integrate the Copa America of July 11, 2021.

“And then, it must be admitted that his first season in Paris was very disappointing both in terms of the visual impression and the statistics.”

Ballon d’Or format

France Football, a highly respected football publication, have come up with a shortlist of 30 contenders for this year’s Ballon d’Or with 20 names for the women’s award. This was announced in August.

A hundred journalists from FIFA’s top 100 nations will select their top five from the 30-man shortlist. The same process takes place with the women but with 50 journalists from different nations.

The players on each jury member’s list are awarded points, as follows:

• First: Six points
• Second: Four points
• Third: Three points
• Fourth: Two points
• Fifth: One point

If two or more players are tied on points, the number of first-place votes they received is used as a tie-breaker.

The three main criteria when the jury member is making their decisions are: Individual and collective performance from the previous season, a player’s class and their career.

Whoever gets the most points is the winner of the Ballon d’Or.

Ballon d’Or Feminin nominations

Alexia Putellas is favourite to win the Ballon d’Or Feminin, but she faces stiff competition from several players including Sam Kerr, Wendie Reynard, Ada Hegerberg and England’s Beth Mead.

Arsenal’s forward sensation Vivianne Miedema is also in contention, as is Putellas’ team-mate Fridolina Rolfo.

United States legend Alex Morgan is on the list, and is one of two players from the National Women’s Soccer League, the other being Trinity Rodman of Washington Spirit.

Christiane Endler is the only goalkeeper to be named on the shortlist.

Ballon d’Or nominations

Karim Benzema is the strong favourite to win the Ballon d’Or following his sensational season that led Real Madrid to a La Liga and Champions League double.

Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Luis Diaz, Fabinho and Darwin Nunez are included, along with Tottenham’s Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son.

Manchester City have strong representation with Erling Haaland, Riyad Mahrez, Joao Cancelo, Kevin De Bruyne, Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva.

Robert Lewandowski is on the list as is last season’s Bundesliga Player of the Season Christopher Nkunku with new team-mate Sadio Mane.

AC Milan’s Rafael Leao and goalkeeper Mike Maignan are on the list after winning the Serie A title last season.