Ballon d’Or 2022: Winners, rankings, final awards results unveiled live in Paris with Benzema as favorite

For months it’s been considered a foregone conclusion that Real Madrid and France forward Karim Benzema will be honored with his first career Ballon d’Or (Golden Ball) as the best player in the world. Benzema was the top scorer in Spain’s La Liga and the UEFA Champions League in the 2021/22 season, as Real Madrid won both competitions.

But last year everyone also felt that Robert Lewandowski had an airtight case for the Ballon d’Or and he controversially finished in second place, behind Lionel Messi for the award.

That led to changes in the award voting process beginning in 2022, and the changes should reduce the possibility of a surprise when a player’s credentials stand out above the rest like Benzema’s do.

A total of 12 of the last 13 winners have been named Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo — Croatian midfielder Luka Modric interrupted the hegemony in 2018 — but Messi did not make the cut for the finalists, though Ronaldo did. Messi has won it a record seven times, while Ronaldo has claimed five.

The Sporting News will be covering the 2022 Ballon d’Or event, the seven award rankings, and all the news and color throughout the day. Check back here for updates throughout the day on Monday.

MORE: The final rankings for the 2021 Ballon d’Or awards

What are the Ballon d’Or awards

There are a total of seven awards that will be handed out on Monday. The Gerd Muller Trophy and Club of the Year were awarded for the first time in 2021.

• Men’s Ballon d’Or (Player of the Year)
• Women’s Ballon d’Or (Player of the Year)
• Kopa Trophy (Best Under-21 men’s player)
• Yashin Trophy (Best men’s goalkeeper)
• Gerd Muller Trophy (top scorer for club and national team combined)
• Socrates Award (new award in 2022 recognizing player acts of solidarity)
• Club of the Year (last year it was the club with most Ballon d’Or nominees)

What time is Ballon d’Or ceremony

The formal ceremony for the 66th edition of the Ballon d’Or will kick off at 8:30 p.m. local time (14:30 ET / 19:30 BST) at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, France. But the red carpet coverage will kick off roughly 30 minutes before.

Award organizers France Football will begin unveiling the men’s Ballon d’Or rankings four hours before beginning at 4:30 p.m. Paris time, as a way of building up the buzz for the event. They will leave the top 10 reveal for the formal ceremony.

Where to watch Ballon d’Or 2022

Only a few select countries, including Australia (SBS) and the USA (Paramount+), will have a local broadcaster carrying the show. The rest of the world can tune in to the live stream provided by France Football via the channels of French sister publication L’Equipe.

Ballon d’Or live stream

Outside of those countries with a dedicated broadcaster, the rest can tune in via the YouTube channel and web site of France Football’s sister publication L’Equipe.

Who will win Ballon d’Or?

With pre-ceremony odds of -2500 (1/25 or 1.04), Karim Benzema is practically a shoo-in to win the 2022 Ballon d’Or.  

The following odds come courtesy of Canada-based Sports Interaction, who hung the following numbers in the lead-up to the event. It’s nonetheless interesting to see the names of the three players who have the next best odds behind Benzema.

MORE: Which Real Madrid players have won the Ballon d’Or?

How does voting for Ballon d’Or work?

Voting for the Ballon d’Or was revamped following the controversial victory by Lionel Messi over Robert Lewandowski in the 2021 edition.

The goal of award organizers France Football was to present more clearly defined voting criteria and make voting more selective in order that the final award does not turn into a popularity contest. 

How finalists are determined

Awards organizers France Football generated the list of candidates for each award from three sources: 

• France Football and L’Equipe journalists
• Former great and Ballon d’Or ambassador Didier Drogba
• Media members whose 2021 voting ballot matched the final rankings

New Ballon d’Or voting process for 2022

There were a handful of changes to the voting process introduced for 2022. 

Media voters are now limited to a single media member from the top 100 countries in the FIFA rankings for men, and the top 50 nations from women’s rankings. The belief is that this will ensure a more knowledgeable voter base given the importance of football in the country and the likelihood matches from around the world are available.

Voting criteria were updated to eliminate consideration for overall career performance and instead focus on three main factors:

1. Individual performance in previous season from August-July (no longer by calendar year);
2. Team success during the previous season;
3. Player behavior and fair play during the season in consideration.

Ballon d’Or 2022 finalists (Men)

While Karim Benzema is the favorite as La Liga and Champions League winner and top scorer, the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, and Kevin De Bruyne, are among those believed to have an outside shot, according to the betting odds.

2022 Ballon d’Or Finalists (Women)

The nominees include last year’s winner Alexia Putellas, EA FIFA 23 cover star Sam Kerr, three American national team players, and three members of England’s Euro 2022 winning side. However, Putellas missed the Euros and her Barcelona side lost the Champions League final, which could count against her.

MORE: Who will win the women’s 2022 Ballon d’Or?

2022 Kopa Trophy finalists

This is the award for best young player (Under-21), and half the nominees play in the Bundesliga. Barcelona’s Pedri did not have enough appearances to make the final cut, per France Football

2022 Yashin Trophy finalists

This is the award for top men’s goalkeeper. Real Madrid’s Thibaut Courtois, AC Milan’s Mike Maignan, and Eintracht Frankfurt’s Kevin Trapp are the favorites. Courtois was Man of the Match in the Champions League final, Maignan led his team to the Serie A title, and Trapp helped his club to the Europa League trophy.