We’ve moved on from the Messi and Ronaldo duopoly but Real Madrid and Barcelona continue to dominate in the individual awards.
On Monday evening we watched on as the world of global football showed its more glitzy side. The sight of sweaty athletes showing their prowess on a muddy field was swapped for a red carpet filled with those same individuals wearing expensive suits, glamorous dresses and big smiles. And the supporting cast of families, friends, club officials and sporting executives took their own places as we gathered for the crowning of the best players in the world.
Ballon d’Or: who picked the winners?
Whether you put much weight in the individual award chosen or not -- for the record, I don’t -- there is certainly a prestige involved for those that get to vote in the Ballon d’Or prizes. We have seen in years gone by that much attention is put on who votes for whom, and often patterns can be seen where certain biases may be in play, sometimes some very left-field choices suggesting that only a limited amount of football has actually been watched. Just ask the Mexicans.
Fans will always have their own favourites and will find ways to doubt the integrity or intelligence of those voting a different way, especially if choosing a rival player. This year there were a number of changes to the process, most notably, the jury of journalists was instructed to take into account players’ performances in the 2021/22 season, rather than the 2022 calendar year. What’s more, the number of jurors was significantly reduced, and the criteria they were to consider no longer includes a candidate’s achievements throughout their entire career.
So, to the 2022 Ballon d’Or voting. Who were behind the crowning glories of Karim Benzema, Alexia Putellas, Gavi, Thibaut Courtois, and Manchester City, and all those that came in behind them?
Well, the truth is that we don’t yet know. Here at AS, as you’ll no doubt be aware, we have been across everything to do with the awards for many a year, and normally bring you the voting records within hours of the event. This year, however, we are still awaiting the data from France Football. As soon as we have it, assuming it gets released, we’ll have you updated... Sorry.