Individual football awards do not come any bigger than Ballon d’Or, and the running and the ceremony during which the award is given invariably remain in the spotlight. This is the most coveted prize, which is given to the best performing footballer during the calendar year from 1956 onwards.
Football fans and punters are already looking forward to finding out who of the would-be winners will ultimately take the 2022 Ballon d’Or home. The race to win Ballon d’Or 2022 is a much-anticipated event not only by football fans but by gambling enthusiasts as well. Ahead of the 2022 Ballon d’Or ceremony, gambling enthusiasts have already started checking the odds for the next footballer who will claim the prestigious prize.
Whether the reigning trophy holder Lionel Messi will keep on breaking records and will lift the trophy for the eighth time, whether the rivalry between him and Ronaldo will remain as keen as it was before or another player will end their dominance are only some of the questions gambling enthusiasts are now asking themselves.
According to the opening odds, Mohamed Salah and Robert Lewandowski are expected to be among the top contenders to claim the award. Yet, tracking the odds for every player is a must as no contender should be ruled out of the competition.
How Has Ballon d’Or Changed Through the Years
Since the inception of the awards, the trophy has been handed out to the most deserving players, and so far, Messi and Ronaldo are the footballers who have claimed the prize most times. The award was conceived by the French sports journalist and footballer Gabriel Hanot, and the first player who received it was Stanley Matthews in 1956.
Initially, the award was known as European Footballer of the Year and was only given to players from Europe. This changed in 1995 when players could receive the award if they have played in a European club, no matter the region they are from. Ballon d’Or became a global prize in 2007 when footballers from all corners of the globe became eligible for the honour.
George Weah, the only African player to win the Ballon d’Or, ruining Bayern Munich’s day with a lovely slaloming run and a blistering finish. pic.twitter.com/QKC0sH4iCz
— MUNDIAL (@MundialMag) January 14, 2022
Interestingly, the first non-European to win the award was George Weah. He is also the first African national team player to claim the honour. The Soviet professional footballer Lev Yashin, who is also known as the “Black Spider” is the only goalkeeper who has received the prize in its history.
The editions from 2010 to 2015 are known as FIFA Ballon d’Or as a result of the merch between the FIFA Player of the Year award and the award, which was presented by the French news magazine France Football. After the partnership ended, each of the awards was reverted to its original form and since that time, they are handed out separately.
The French football administrator and former player and manager Michel Platini has been given the award three years in a row, as he claimed Ballon d’Or in 1983, 1984, and 1985.
The only Ukrainians who have received the award are Oleh Blokhin, Andriy Shevchenko, and Ihor Belanov. Ruud Gullitt and Marco van Basten who were teammates in the Netherlands and AC Milan, won the award in two consecutive years, between 1987 and 1989. Interestingly, Marco van Basten is among the footballers who have claimed the prize most times as he has received the honour three times. He ties with Michel Platini and Johan Cruyff as they are also three-time winners.
It is worth mentioning that back in 2018, France Football decided to honour this year’s outstanding men’s and women’s footballers for the first time in the history of the award. Ada Hegerberg is the first footballer to receive the honours for the best female association football player. Megan Rapinoe received the award in 2019, and in 2020, the ceremony was scratched because of the Coronavirus pandemic.
Can World Cup 2022 Change the Course of Ballon d’Or Voting
The standout performer of the year is normally determined towards the end of the year, and the voting is closed a couple of weeks prior to the ceremony. While picking the footballer to bet on, gambling enthusiasts should bear in mind that there are certain factors that might have an impact on the result of the awards.
If the presenters of the honour decide not to change the timetable according to which the award is given, this means that the voting will take place before the World Cup kicks off. Still, if France Football decides to hold back the voting and schedule it after the World Cup, this might make a difference.
It is interesting to note that from 1956 onwards, players whose teams have made it to the semi-finals and the final of the World Cup have almost invariably been present in the top three positions of the shortlist.
Throughout the years, the result of the World Cup is said to have changed the course of the award multiple times. Zinedine Zidane got the award in 1998 after France triumphed at the World Cup in 1998. The same was also the case with Ronaldo in 2002 when Brazil became champions, thus claiming their fifth title. Fabio Cannavaro got the 2006 Ballon d’Or after Italy won the World Cup.
Lionel Messi got the honour in 2009 by the greatest voting margin, so was the case with the FIFA World Player of the Year. He received the honour again the following year when Spain lifted the trophy at the finale of the World Cup. Messi got the award again in 2014 when Germany triumphed over Argentina in Brazil.
After Luka Modric led Croatia during the World Cup in 2018, he won the Ballon d’Or even though his team lost to France in the final.
OFFICIAL: The Ballon d'Or will not be awarded to any player this year, due to the disruption caused by the coronavirus. 🥇❌ pic.twitter.com/t1GmvgzubX
— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Football__Tweet) July 20, 2020
In 2021, the formal ceremony returned after a one-year hiatus, which was caused by the Coronavirus outbreak. Mohamed Salah is undoubtedly among the names to watch for, especially after his snub last year. In spite of the fact that he enjoyed a sensational year, the Liverpool star finished seventh, which threw his fans into confusion. The rivalry between Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich, Poland) and Lionel Messi (PSG, Argentina) from last year, is expected to continue as they were the 2021 finalists. Messi ultimately claimed the prize with a 613-580 count.
Yet, this is not to say that players can only become the top footballer, provided their team walks away with the trophy. There are already leading sports betting sites that have started naming the would-be winners of the honour this year, and at this point, Mohamed Salah and Robert Lewandowski are among the pacesetters.
Most Recent Ballon d’Or Winners
The biggest individual honour, which is given annually, is invariably at the centre of attention and as we said earlier, this year, there is a big question mark over the winner because of the World Cup recency. The running for this year’s prize is also expected to spark a debate, especially considering the fact that last year, Messi took the award home after winning one of the closest races for years against Lewandowski.
When it comes to the timeline of the most recent winners of the award, last year, Lionel Messi won a record-breaking seventh Ballon d’Or, thus cementing his position as one of the best footballers of all time. It came as no surprise that he claimed the award last year, especially after he won Copa Del Rey and Copa America.
The second half of the year was not less productive for him, and the Argentine professional footballer scored nine goals and made 13 assists after he signed for his new team Paris Saint-Germain. He might be yet to set the world alight with his new team, but the fact that he already has lots of credit for his performance in Barcelona should be overlooked.
Christiano Ronaldo has claimed Ballon d’Or five times, and as it seems, he is among the favourites to walk off with the trophy this year. Many of his fans consider that the record-breaking more than 800 goals he has scored in his career are a much more praise-worthy achievement than getting another Ballon d’Or. It is interesting to note that after the ceremony in 2021, Ronaldo and Messi share 11 of the last 12 trophies. Although they are both in the late stages of their careers, this is not to say that they are unable to perform at the top of their games.
After claiming the prize in 2018, Luka Modric undoubtedly shocked football fans and punters alike. Even though the prize was not dished out back in 2020, many consider that Robert Lewandowski should have received the honour. After losing the race to Messi last year, Lewandowski is again among the would-be winners of the prize, and some bookies even consider that at this point, they have equal chances of claiming the prize.
| Year | Winner |
|---|---|
| 2008 | Cristiano Ronaldo |
| 2009 | Lionel Messi |
| 2010 | Lionel Messi |
| 2011 | Lionel Messi |
| 2012 | Lionel Messi |
| 2013 | Cristiano Ronaldo |
| 2014 | Cristiano Ronaldo |
| 2015 | Lionel Messi |
| 2016 | Cristiano Ronaldo |
| 2017 | Cristiano Ronaldo |
| 2018 | Luka Modric |
| 2019 | Lionel Messi |
| 2020 | Not awarded |
| 2021 | Lionel Messi |
Voting for Ballon d’Or
As mentioned already, the Ballon d’Or is an award, which is given to the male footballer who is deemed to have achieved the most during the current year. The player who will claim the award is determined through voting by 180 journalists from different parts of the globe. Each journalist is then required to pick five out of the 30 shortlisted footballers and put them in descending order. Thus, the player who gets the greatest number of points after the voting is closed claims the Ballon d’Or.
It should be noted that up to 2006, only journalists were allowed to vote for the player whose performance was recognised. After the voting process was changed, captains of the national teams and coaches were also permitted to cast their votes for the most deserving player.
When it comes to the Women’s Ballon d’Or, the number of journalists that vote for the individual and collective performances of female players is reduced to 50. In addition to this, the shortlist of candidates for the award contains 20 names, and the journalists are then required to pick the top five nominees by assigning the same number of points as with the male Ballon d’Or. The current holder of the Women’s Ballon d’Or is Alexia Putellas.
Top 10 Players Who Can Claim Ballon d’Or 2022
As the new year of football has already kicked off, the list of favourites for the prestigious Ballon d’Or continues to expand. The name of the footballer who will be in top stop piques the interest of punters and whether Lionel Messi will miss his eighth crown is the question many fans and punters keep on asking. The fierce rivalry between Messi and Ronaldo has been one of the most impressive the football world has ever seen, and many football fans are confident that it will continue in 2022.
Several names of players who might step up to the plate and get the award are already on the lips of gambling enthusiasts and bookmakers. Last year, bookmakers considered that the competition would be a two-horse race, and the strong favourites were Lionel Messi and Robert Lewandowski.
Leo Messi says to Robert Lewandowski: “Robert, you deserve your Ballon D'Or. Last year, everyone was in agreement to say that you were the big winner of this award”. 🤝🇦🇷🇵🇱 #Messi #BallonDOr @GFFN
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) November 29, 2021
Yet, as we said already, there is always the chance to see a footballer emerge as a surprise award winner, all the more so because of the World Cup. The public chatter about the would-be winners is expected to intensify in the months to come, and at this point, these are ten of the footballers who are said to stand the chance to claim the prize.
Mohamed Salah
As the ceremony draws closer, more and more punters keep wondering whether there is another footballer who can break Messi’s record for most prizes. All the more so after a number of leading bookmakers announced Mohamed Salah as one of the current front-runners.
Many think that last year, he was hard done by the jury, especially considering his record-breaking achievements throughout the year. Many consider that during season 2021-2022, Salah is doing the best he has ever done in his career. During his fifth campaign at Anfield, the 29-years old Egyptian is shocking the world with his form so far scoring 17 goals after appearing 18 times.
Counting him out of the race for the 2022 Ballon d’Or will be all the more unlikely, especially if Salah claims another trophy with Liverpool. Winning the Ballon d’Or will be even more on the cards for him if Egypt makes it to the Qatar World Cup. He will become one of the most deserving nominees to get the award also if he keeps up with his impressive run not only on an international level but in the Champions and Premier Leagues as well.
Robert Lewandowski
Along with footballers like Ronaldo and Messi that have already won quite the media buzz, Robert Lewandowski is once again expected to appear on the list of deserving players. Up to now, he is among the highest-scoring footballers during the 2021-2022 season, as he has scored 28 goals in Bundesliga alone.
The 33-year-old national side is also expected to go out of his way to ensure that Poland will make its way to the World Cup in Qatar, and his result in the national competition might tip the scales in his favour.
Currently, he holds the European Golden Shoe, and as it seems, he shows no signs of slowing down and is poised to get the award two years in a row. According to bookies, he has all the chances to get the Ballon d’Or, especially if he continues to maintain momentum.
Kylian Mbappe
Kylian Mbappe is widely considered one of the most promising young footballers these days, and many consider that he has the talent to take over from Ronaldo and Messi. Last year, he was among the shortlisted candidates for Ballon d’Or, but after the voting, he took the ninth position. This year, bookmakers have again placed him among the top contenders for the prize, and at this point, operators put him slightly after Robert Lewandowski and Mohamed Salah.
The 23-year-old PSG star has already proved that he knows how to ply his trade as he won the 2018 World Cup. His performance during the 2021 Nations League with France should not be underrated either. Rumours have it for some time that an agreement is reached and Kylian Mbappe will move to Real Madrid. If this move ultimately happens and he keeps up with his improvement, his chances to claim the prize are expected to improve significantly. Besides, he is also among the key figures of the French national team, so he is expected to remain in the public eye during the World Cup.
Lionel Messi
As we said earlier, Lionel Messi is the player who has triumphed most times during the Ballon d’Or ceremony, and many fans and punters wonder whether Messi will manage to pip Ronaldo again. What the opening odds show is that he is behind several other players that are eyeing the award. In spite of this, he continues to break the record with the number of goals he scores, which is to say that gambling enthusiasts should not rule him out of the competition.
In spite of the fact that Argentina is currently the sixth on the list of favourites to lift the trophy in Qatar, Messi’s exploits during the World Cup might make it a sure thing that he will get the award two consecutive years.
Kevin de Bruyne
Kevin De Bruyne is another outstanding player who is expected to be among the top runners for the Ballon d’Or this year. The Manchester City and Belgium footballer is considered one of the best midfielders on a global scale, and his titles and achievements go to show this.
Kevin de Bruyne has already been among the nominees for the prestigious award in 2018 after the superb season he enjoyed. Last year, he was again among the shortlisted players that got recognition for their performance during the past 12 months.
It is worth mentioning, however, that no Premier League footballer has repeated the achievement of Ronaldo, who claimed Ballon d’Or in 2009 while he was playing for Manchester United.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Even though the shortlist of footballers is yet to be announced, the name of Christiano Ronaldo is sure to appear there. His back-to-back competition with Messi has been in the focus of attention for more than a decade, and football fans and punters will be eager to find out whether it will continue or another player will end their dominance.
Considering that it is Ronaldo’s 37th birthday this year, it is reasonable to expect him to give his best to continue with his record-breaking goal-scoring statistics. With 803 goals in his career, Ronaldo is already well ahead of Pele, who has scored 765 goals in his career. His chances to be crowned the world’s best player for the sixth time are not expected to change significantly based on his performance during the World Cup, which is not surprising considering his previous credit.
Last year, he returned to Manchester United, which caused a heated public debate. Now, Manchester United’s chances to make it to the Champions League will be determined very soon, so are Portugal’s odds to go through the World Cup qualifications. Ronaldo is in the centre of attention also while playing in the national team of Portugal, where his teammates heavily rely on him after he helped them see multiple wins.
Erling Haaland
Erling Haaland is a promising young player who is expected to become one of the best footballers of this generation. There are already several European giants that target the footballer, but where he will choose to continue his career is yet to be seen. Yet, the constant talk about his possible LaLiga move has not made him underperform, and he seems determined to land a Bundesliga title with Borussia Dortmund.
After he moved to Dortmund in 2020, Erling Haaland made history with his 71 goals in 70 Bundesliga matches. He could have achieved even more stunning results during the 2021-2022 season if it was not for his muscle injury. After he recovered, he seems all the more determined to become the next top Bundesliga goalscorer.
If he keeps on defying the odds, the Norwegian player undoubtedly stands the chance to claim Ballon d’Or, and bookmakers have already placed him among the top contenders for the prestigious award.
Karim Benzema
Karim Benzema is often regarded as one of the best strikers in the world, and his brilliant form should make punters count him in for the Ballon d’Or race. He is among the key players in the French national team and has been sitting atop the charts for the top goal-scoring LaLiga players for quite a while. After Ronaldo left Real Madrid, Benzema remained at the top of his game and led the team to wins in multiple games.
If France triumphs in Qatar, and Benzema contributes to its result, he has every chance to become a dark horse in the competition for the trophy. Benzema played a key role when France won the UEFA Nations League, and now he is expected to do the same, especially considering the fact that France is among the heavy favourites.
Neymar
Neymar is one more footballer from the PSG side who is expected to reach the shortlist of Ballon d’Or contenders. Although he needs to compete with Messi for the limelight, Neymar’s performance should not be underrated.
Interestingly, in 2015, Neymar became the first Brazilian player to reach the three-man shortlist for the prestigious award after Kaka did so in 2007. In fact, he is the Brazilian player who has been nominated most times for the award for Best Player as his name has been on the list of contenders nine times.
Many bookmakers consider Neymar a dark horse, but his injuries and poor form should undoubtedly be taken into account. Thus, in spite of the fact that he plays for PSG that is among the favourites to win the Champions League and Brazil, which is tipped as the front-runners to lift the trophy at the World Cup finale, Neymar is still worth considering while betting on the next Ballon d’Or winner. Still, his odds to claim the prize currently place him outside the top five contenders.
Phil Foden
The 21-year old player of Manchester City Phil Foden has already shown that he knows how to play at the top of his game on an international and domestic level. It has been a while since the last time an English player won the award as this happened in 2001 when Michael Owen claimed the Ballon d’Or. Because of this, lots of attention is directed towards Foden who was among the nominees in 2021 and is expected to be a nominee this year.
Considering that he is part of England’s squad, which is considered among the clear favourites to lift the trophy at the finals of the World Cup, it makes sense Foden is often mentioned as a would-be contender for the Best Play award. All the more so considering that Foden was part of Southgate’s squad, which made it to the final of Euro 2020.
Depending on his importance to the national club of England and his club, Foden might well become the next Ballon d’Or winner.
- Author
Harry Evans
