Surely there is one name on the 2022 Ballon d’Or already because it would take a seismic shock for La Liga star Karim Benzema to miss out when the voting is done.
I suspect the trophy inscriber has completed his job already and no-one in football would deny the Frenchman his big moment after a phenomenal season with Real Madrid. A change in the rules means the 2022 Ballon d’Or will be judged over a single season rather than a calendar year and so the Qatar World Cup will have no impact.
And so the Champions League and La Liga top scorer is set to pick up the coveted prize. Let’s take a look at why almost everyone here at SBOTOP has Benzema as the top man and, for the doubters, which four players have an outside chance of upsetting the odds.
Karim Benzema: Real Madrid
In the immediate aftermath of Real Madrid’s dramatic Champions League victory over Liverpool Benzema’s Ballon d’Or 2022 odds to win plummeted as he added the Champions League to Los Blancos’ domestic triumph, top scoring in both. In terms of pure consistency in performance and the impact he has made on the European scene there is no-one to touch the French goal machine.
Had Jurgen Klopp’s Reds lifted the European crown then Mo Salah would still have been in the running. But Benzema, who scored 15 goals in 12 Champions League appearances, had the biggest smile at the final whistle at the Stade de France in Paris.
Benzema also fired Real Madrid to a record 35th league title with 27 league goals and he looks set to be only the second Ballon d’Or winner outside of Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo since 2008.
The other interloper was Luka Modric in 2018.
Mohamed Salah: Liverpool
Salah’s decision to stay at Liverpool has given the Reds a better chance of catching Manchester City next season. He had another wonderful campaign, scoring 33 goals and making a total of 19 assists across all competitions while lifting the FA Cup and Carabao Cup. If the Champions League final had gone the way of the Reds and Salah had scored the winner then who knows, but I think the Egyptian will have to settle for second place.
A brilliant performance from Real Madrid keeper Thibaut Courtois all but handed the Ballon d’Or to his team-mate.
Robert Lewandowski: FC Bayern
What does FC Bayern goal-machine Robert Lewandowski have to do to win a Ballon d’Or? Few neutrals could believe he was pipped by Messi in 2021, but he can’t complain this time around as Benzema has taken the art of leading the line to a new level, and in a league arguably more difficult to score in than the Bundesliga.
Lewandowski scored an incredible 57 goals across all competitions as Bayern strolled to yet another domestic title and he might well have been the Champions League top scorer had the Bavarians not been dumped out of the competition by Villarreal.
So what can Lewi do to win the European player award? He is doing his best to engineer a move to Barcelona for a start, so watch out for more Ballon d’Or 2022 updates!
Kylian Mbappe: Paris Saint-Germain
In contrast to Lewandowski, PSG striker Mbappe has snubbed the Spanish league in favour of remaining in France, ignoring the attentions of Real Madrid. Once again, the 23-year-old hit man has dominated even with the likes of Lionel Messi and Neymar alongside him at PSG. He scored a whopping 49 goals across all competitions and made 31 assists and he is certain to be one of the big stars of the World Cup in Qatar.
But the Les Bleus star has put a lot of faith in the Parisiens and he will want rewarding with a Champions League triumph before too long.
Sadio Mane: Liverpool (now FC Bayern)
When Senegal lifted the 2022 African Cup of Nations and Sadio Mane comforted his Liverpool team-mate Mo Salah, who had been on the losing side with Egypt, that gave the Senegalese striker a decent chance of being the first African to win the Ballon d’Or since George Weah back in 1995.
Mane scored 33 goals across all competitions and he too was denied by the brilliant Courtois in the Champions League final. Perhaps the Belgian keeper should have been in the top five alongside Benzema!
But Mane can be proud of another fine campaign in the Premier League, and now he is set for a new challenge in the Bundesliga after he signed for FC Bayern.
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