Lionel Messi did not make in the Ballon d’Or’s 30-man longlist for the 2022 season. Messi’s long-term rival Cristiano Ronaldo, on the other hand, is on the list despite having a poor season himself. Check out the article & complete list…
Lionel Messi is out of contention for the Ballon d’Or for the first time since 2006. The record seven-time Golden Ball award winner was not among the final 30 players shortlisted for this year’s award.
French football awards the most prestigious individual award in football, and the 30 nominees for the latest edition of the individual accolade were officially announced on Friday evening, with the seven-time winner missing out entirely.
The 35-year-old superstar, who joined Paris Saint-Germain from Catalan club FC Barcelona at the start of the 2021-22 season, had a difficult first season outside Spain, scoring only 11 goals in all competitions, his lowest total since 2005-06. He did, however, assist another 15 times in his 34 appearances.
Ronaldo and Messi have dominated Ballon d’Or ceremonies, winning a total of 12 Golden Balls between them. While Ronaldo last stood on top of the podium in 2017, Messi won the prestigious award last year.
Messi’s poor goal-scoring record for PSG in the 2021-22 season appears to have worked against him. The Argentine maestro only scored 11 goals in all competitions this season, with only six of those coming in Ligue 1. Despite the fact that Messi had 14 assists last season, the statistic does not appear to have been taken into account by France Football.
Candidates for the Ballon d’Or 2022 – Full list (Lionel Messi excluded)
1. Thibaut Courtois (Real Madird)
2. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
3. Rafael Leao (AC Milan)
4. Christopher Nkunku (RB Leipzig)
5. Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich)
6. Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)
7. Vinicius Jr (Real Madrid)
8. Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
9. Luis Diaz (Liverpool)
10. Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona)
11. Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City)
12. Casemiro (Real Madrid)
13. Heung-Min Son (Tottenham)
14. Fabinho (Liverpool)
15. Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)
16. Mike Maignan (AC Milan)
17. Harry Kane (Tottenham)
18. Darwin Nunez (Liverpool)
19. Phil Foden (Manchester City)
20. Sadio Mane (Bayern Munich)
21. Sebastien Haller (Borussia Dortmund)
22. Luka Modric (Real Madrid)
23. Antonio Rudiger (Real Madrid)
24. Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
25. Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City)
26. Dusan Vlahovic (Juventus)
27. Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
28. Joao Cancelo (Manchester City)
29. Erling Haaland (Manchester City)
30. Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain)
Even Messi’s PSG teammate Neymar, widely regarded as one of the best players in the world, isn’t on the list.
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