The Ballon d’Or remains the most prestigious individual award in international football, despite the controversy and criticism it creates, and the race to win the honor in 2022 is well and firmly underway.
The regulations for Ballon d’Or voting changed in March, with the most significant change being that the prize would now be judged on performances over a single season rather than a calendar year.
As a result, performances at the 2022 World Cup, which is expected to begin in November, will not be judged this year, but rather when voting for the 2023 Ballon d’Or begins.
In this thread, we shall be discussing about the top Balon d’or contenders for this season. Join the discussion and share your views on this topic.
46 goals and 13 assists in 2021-22. The UEFA Nations League and the Supercopa de Espana were both won.
A Frenchman hasn’t won France Football’s prized accolade since Zinedine Zidane in 1998, but Benzema has put himself firmly in the driver’s seat as the race for the 2022 honor reaches its vital weeks.
With his hat-trick against Chelsea, he has now given two of the season’s most memorable individual displays, while his goals are also propelling Real Madrid towards the Spanish title.
52 goals and eight assists in 2021-22. DFL-Supercup was won.
After being kept quiet by Villarreal in Bayern’s quarter-final first-leg defeat in Spain, Lewandowski will need to show more wizardry in front of goal if the Bavarians are to reach the Champions League semi-finals.
On Saturday, the Poland international scored a late winner against Augsburg to keep his side’s nine-point advantage at the top of the Bundesliga standings.
Benzema is enjoying the best season of his career and seems to get better with each passing week. He leads the way for goals AND assists in La Liga, while his performances in the Champions League have been exceptional. Benzema scored hat-tricks in back-to-back matches against Paris Saint-Germain and which is some achievement. He also helped France win the UEFA Nations League in October, so it’s no wonder L’Equipe believe talisman is currently the slight favourite for the Ballon d’Or.
Once again, **[Lewandowski] is the leading scorer in a European football season. In Bundesliga action, the Pole has netted 32 goals in just 29 games, a record befitting of prime Messi or Ronaldo. The numbers are just absurd and if he can guide to Champions League glory, Lewandowski may finally get his hands on the Ballon d’Or.
In the English Premier League season 2021/22, Mohamed Salah has played 27 matches (plus 2 as a sub). They have 49 shots on target from a total of 85 shots and have scored 20 goals (22.67 xG). Mohamed Salah averages 32 passes per match with a pass completion rate of 80%, and has 11 assists. Mohamed Salah has received 1 yellow card and 0 red cards. The average Infogol Player Rating for Mohamed Salah in the English Premier League 2021/22 season is 8.54.
In my opinion Salah deserves this year Balon d’or
In the Champions League season 2021/22, Mohamed Salah has played 9 matches (plus 1 as a sub). They have 16 shots on target from a total of 23 shots and have scored 8 goals (7.02 xG). Mohamed Salah averages 34 passes per match with a pass completion rate of 82%, and has 0 assists. Mohamed Salah has received 0 yellow cards and 0 red cards. The average Infogol Player Rating for Mohamed Salah in the Champions League 2021/22 season is 7.76.
Thibaut Courtois Rafael Leao Christopher Nkunku Mohamed Salah Joshua Kimmich Trent Alexander-Arnold Vinicius Jr Bernardo Silva Luis Diaz Karim Benzema Robert Lewandowski Riyad Mahrez Casemiro Son Heung-Min Fabinho Mike Maignan Harry Kane Darwin Nunez Phil Foden Sadio Mane Sebastien Haller Luka Modric Antonio Rudiger Cristiano Ronaldo Kevin De Bruyne Dusan Vlahovic Virgil van Dijk Joao Cancelo Kylian Mbappe Erling Haaland
41 appearances
46 goals
13 assists
just give his ballon d’or 
Thibaut Courtois
Rafael Leao
Christopher Nkunku
Mohamed Salah
Joshua Kimmich
Trent Alexander-Arnold
Vinicius Jr
Luis Diaz
Robert Lewandowski
Riyad Mahrez
Son Heung-Min
Darwin Nunez
Sadio Mane
Sebastien Haller
Luka Modric
Dusan Vlahovic
Virgil van Dijk
Erling Haaland
Yassine Bounou
Jan Oblak
Fridolina Rolfö
Sam Kerr
Christiane Endler
Catarina Macario
Alexia Putellas
Asisat Oshoala
UCL Player of the Season