Leaked: Ballon d’Or Rankings 2022
A leaked list of Ballon d'Or rankings has been released online showing who will replace Lionel Messi as the best player on the planet.
A leaked image of the rumoured Ballon d’Or rankings has appeared online and makes very interesting reading.
There was a shock when the 30-player shortlist was announced and seven-time winner Lionel Messi was not included.
How Is The Shortlist Of 30 Players Created?
Football publication France Football selected the 30 players that form the shortlist for this year’s award to crown the best player on the planet.
Once selected, 180 journalists from across the globe will select the top five players from the shortlist to contest the award.
When Is The Awards Ceremony?
The award ceremony will take place on October 17th, 2022, and will once again be held in Paris.
Leaked Ballon d’Or Rankings
The leaked rankings have been posted on Twitter by FTBL and you can just about make out the first 22 names on the list.
According to the post, Karim Benzema will take Messi’s crown as the best player on the planet holding off competition from Sadio Mane in second and Vinicius Jr in third.
Mohamed Salah is fourth with Robert Lewandowski fifth and there is further representation on the list from Liverpool with Virgil van Dijk 14th and Trent Alexander-Arnold in 18th.
LFCTR Verdict
There are always several leaks of the final standings before every year’s Ballon d’Or awards and this is very unlikely to represent the actual results.
In terms of the rankings, however, the top five are probably realistic with Benzema the clear favorite for the award.
