The 2022 Ballon d'Or ceremony will take place in Paris on Monday evening.
Kicking off at 7:30pm UK time, the lavish Theatre du Chatelet will be stage a grand spectacle to crown football's finest player of the past season from a shortlist of 30. The Ballon d'Or Feminin, the Kopa Trophy and the Yashin Trophy will also be dished out during the ceremony, showcasing the best that Europe has to offer across a range of demographics.
Decided by more than 150 sports journalists, and the coaches and captains of international teams under FIFA 's jurisdiction, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have won 12 of the last 13 Ballons d'Or, dominating the male side of the sport since 2008. Luka Modric is the sole outlier, claiming the award in 2018, and it's expected that another Real Madrid star will break the duopoly this time around.
In fact, Messi - who controversially pipped Robert Lewandowski in the voting last year to win a record seventh golden ball - hasn't even been nominated for the 2022 award. Karim Benzema is instead the odds-on favourite thanks to a sensational 21-22 campaign - headlined by a Champions League triumph - with the likes of Sadio Mane, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland providing competition.
Meanwhile, Alexia Putellas of Barcelona Femeni - who agonisingly missed this summer's European Championships through injury - is set to win the women's award. The Yashin Trophy - named after Soviet legend Lev - will be awarded to 2022's best male goalkeeper, as Italian ace Gianluigi Donnarumma is expected to hand over the prize to the next recipient. And when it comes to the best under-21 male player, the Kopa Trophy - in tribute to French icon Raymond - Barcelona starlet Pedri will be hoping to retain the award.
Have your say! Who deserves to win this year's Ballon d'Or? Give us your pick in the comments section.
When will the Ballon d'Or winner be announced?
The grand prize will be awarded at the end of the ceremony, which takes place in Paris on Monday, October 17.
What time is the Ballon d'Or ceremony?
After the red carpet walk is done and dusted, the ceremony will begin at 7:30pm UK time.
What TV channel or live stream is the Ballon d'Or on?
L'Equipe's YouTube channel and its official website will live stream the awards. The ceremony isn't currently available on TV.
Who are the nominees?*
- Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)
- Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)
- Joao Cancelo (Manchester City)
- Casemiro (Real Madrid)
- Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid)
- Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)
- Luis Diaz (Porto, Liverpool)
- Fabinho (Liverpool)
- Phil Foden (Manchester City)
- Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund)
- Sebastien Haller (Ajax)
- Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur)
- Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich)
- Rafael Leao (Milan)
- Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
- Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City)
- Mike Maignan (Milan)
- Sadio Mane (Liverpool)
- Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain)
- Luka Modric (Real Madrid)
- Christopher Nkunku (RB Leipzig)
- Darwin Nunez (Benfica)
- Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus, Manchester United)
- Antonio Rudiger (Chelsea)
- Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
- Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
- Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hotspur)
- Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
- Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid)
- Dusan Vlahovic (Fiorentina, Juventus)
*Club played for last season in brackets
