The 2022 Ballon d’Or is upon us, but there are some rule changes which may swing your opinion on who should win the men’s and women’s award. Lionel Messi won the men’s award last year, but has not been nominated for the first time since 2005, whilst Alexia Putellas is expected to defend her women’s crown. Here is how the winner of the awards are decided.
There have been some slight changes to the Ballon d’Or for this year which may change your view on who should win the award when the winner is announced on Monday.
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.
It’s the reason why Lionel Messi hasn’t been nominated for the Ballon d’Or for the first time since 2005 after his poor campaign with Paris Saint-Germain.
“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
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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.
Selma Bacha helped Lyon win the Champions League last season and it has earned her a place on the shortlist, as have Lena Oberdorf, Kadidiatou Diani and Catarina Macario.
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..