The 2022 Ballon d’Or award ceremony is finally here, with the long-awaited award of the prestigious prize upon us for yet another season, but with a twist. This will be the first time that the award is given out based on the merits of the last season of football, as opposed to the last calendar year. The award ceremony will get underway at 19:30 BST, at Theatre du Chatelet in Paris.
Fittingly, being in the French capital, Karim Benzema is the strong favourite although he faces competition from the likes of Robert Lewandowski and Kylian Mbappe also in the mix. It will be the first time since 2005 that seven-time winner Leo Messi is not one of the candidates, while Cristiano Ronaldo is among the list but is not considered to have a chance of winning it.
Sebastien Haller, with 10 Champions League goals last season and 21 in the Eredivisie, makes it to 13rd place.
