Ballon d’Or power rankings: How Alexia Putellas injury could affect voting, Karim Benzema remains top

All change in the women’s Ballon d’Or voting? And what would it take to disrupt the current top three favourites for the men’s award?

For our second set of power rankings, we run through our top five in both categories and speculate whether a major injury could impact the women’s favourite.

Women’s Ballon d’Or rankings

5 – Marie-Antoinette Katoto (PSG & France)

Katoto drops one place, despite getting on the scoresheet in France’s opening match against Italy. She will look to add to her tally against Belgium on Thursday, and with France looking strong, last season’s Ligue 1 top scorer could yet push for a podium place if she emerges as her nation’s brightest spark.

A hat-trick from Grace Geyoro against Italy saw Katoto outshone, however, but expect her to wrestle back the limelight soon.

4 – Ada Hegerberg (Lyon & Norway)

Placing Hegerberg at two last time out felt a little hasty, particularly as Lyon team-mate Catarina Macario arguably warrants a spot in this top five too.

The feeling was that Hegerberg would build on her impressive comeback and help Norway reach the latter stages of Euro 2022.

Still time for that to change, of course.

3 – Wendie Renard (Lyon & France)

This is our main pre-emptive suggestion, bumping up France and Lyon captain Renard to third. Why? Well, France’s 5-1 win over Italy helped, and if the nation are able to win Euro 2022 then we fancy a wave of support for the woman who captained her club to the Champions League and then nation to their first major trophy.

Defenders rarely win individual titles, as discussed last time, but there can often be a big public backing for their efforts to get recognised.

Renard was joint-seventh in 2018 and sixth a year later, making it entirely possible if France can go the distance.

2 – Sam Kerr (Chelsea & Australia)

Watching Euro 2022 from afar is Kerr, the WSL Golden Boot winner who also claimed the FWA, PFA and WSL player of the year awards after steering Chelsea to the league title.

Kerr is unlikely to drop out of the top five despite the prospect for change around her, as she can neither strengthen nor weaker her own chances. It so happens that she’s gone up a place after we bumped down Hegerberg, meaning after a third-place finish last year, Kerr is perhaps in with a shout of her best-ever Ballon d’Or placing.

1 – Alexia Putellas (Barcelona & Spain)

One thing is for certain, she will not win the 2023 Ballon d’Or, however we do not expect the injury and absence from Euro 2022 to impact the prospects of defending her world player of the year crown this year.

She may not be there to help Spain on their mission to win Euro 2022, and even faces a race to make next year’s World Cup, but the news could arguably boost her popularity come the voting. Her league and Champions League efforts will not be forgotten, while if Spain were to fall short it could in fact outline just how important the 28-year-old is.

Honourable mentions: On top of Lyon’s Macario, Barcelona trio Caroline Graham Hansen, Jennifer Hermoso and Aitana Bonmati are tough omissions from our top five. Victory in the Champions League final would certainly have swayed our thinking regarding Barca players.

There’s also time for the imperious Vivianne Miedema to sneak in if she does the business for the Netherlands this month, despite contracting Covid, and likewise Lieke Martens, while if BethMead continues at this rate of scoring in Euro 2022… who knows! See also: Pernille Harder doing the business for Denmark.

Men’s Ballon d’Or rankings

5 – Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid & Brazil)

We’re sticking with our top five, but despite one position swap below we are not yet tempted to swap fourth and fifth, despite a feeling Vinicius Jr could actually place fourth or even secure a place on the podium.

Bar the summer internationals – what happened in those? exactly… – the last remaining memory of the 2021-22 season in Europe will be Vinicius Jr (who turned 22 on Tuesday) sneaking in at the back post to sink Liverpool and secure Real Madrid another Champions League triumph.

His link-up play with Karim Benzema will not have gone unnoticed either, and so the chances of them reuniting on the Ballon d’Or podium? Slim, probably, but do not rule it out.

4 – Kylian Mbappe (PSG & France)

With Robert Lewandowski the lead honourable mention for this top five (IE. We’d have him sixth…), we do wonder where both he and Mbappe will place – and if it could be higher than we predict.

For now, though, he will likely have to settle for a place just away from the podium, unless the decision to pick between the Liverpool duo below leaves voters selecting just the one and bumping up Mbappe.

3 – Mohamed Salah (Liverpool & Egypt)

Why has he dropped to third from second? We’re not 100 per cent confident with this shout, but when push comes to shove it may be what the man below has achieved that sees Salah miss out on a few votes that he could otherwise have collected.

Salah may never get a better chance to win the Ballon d’Or, but with Liverpool falling short in the Champions League it looks likely he’ll have to settle for second or third.

2 – Sadio Mane (Bayern Munich & Senegal)

What helps Mane’s cause this year is the AFCON victory and beating Salah’s Egypt to reach the World Cup, but despite that double success – as well as the double cup success with Liverpool – he will likely place on the podium but simply will not finish first, because…

1 – Karim Benzema (Real Madrid & France)

Need we say more? The striker is a shoo-in, and this ranking is simply not going to change.