Ballon d’Or 2022 winners, rankings, final awards results as Karim Benzema, Alexia Putellas take top prize

The wait is over. Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema won his first career Ballon d’Or on Monday, October 17, becoming the second oldest player to win the award at age 34 and the oldest since Englishman Stanley Matthews who won the very first Ballon d’Or in 1956 at age 41.

The Frenchman was compensated for a mystical 2021/22 season in which his group won both Spain’s La Liga and the UEFA Champions Association and he completed as the top scorer in the two contests. He additionally won the UEFA Countries Association with France.

It had been a foregone conclusion for months that Benzema would win the award as best player in the world given there was realistically no other player who came close to his achievements and trophy haul. He totaled 44 goals for Real Madrid and another six for France in 2021/22. 

Regardless of passing on the most recent couple of months because of an upper leg tendon tear in her left knee experienced in July, Barcelona star Alexia Putellas turned into the primary lady to guarantee consecutive Ballon d’Or prizes, retaliating tears during her acknowledgment discourse. She conceded she didn’t figure the Ballon d’Or would have been conceivable subsequent to passing up the Euros with Spain. Before her physical issue, she brought home the homegrown association championship and drove her group to the UEFA Champions Association last.

Another Barcelona player took the Under-21 Player of the Year as Gavi succeeded teammate Pedri for the award crowning the best young men’s player. Real Madrid’s Thibaut Courtois was named goalkeeper of the Year, taking the Yashin Trophy. Robert Lewandowski won the Gerd Muller Award as the top striker for the second consecutive year after scoring 57 goals for club and country in 2021/22.

Regardless of passing on the most recent couple of months because of an upper leg tendon tear in her left knee experienced in July, Barcelona star Alexia Putellas turned into the primary lady to guarantee consecutive Ballon d’Or prizes, retaliating tears during her acknowledgment discourse. She conceded she didn’t figure the Ballon d’Or would have been conceivable subsequent to passing up the Euros with Spain. Before her physical issue, she brought home the homegrown association championship and drove her group to the UEFA Champions Association last.

In the wake of Lionel Messi’s controversial Ballon d’Or victory in 2021, the 2022 edition of the award saw organizers France Football make several changes to the voting process, including a reduction in the pool of media voters and modifications to the criteria used to judge players. 

Interestingly, players were decided on the European club season (August to July) and not in view of the schedule year. Likewise, vocation accomplishments were not generally thought about by the 100 media citizens for the men’s honor (one elector each from the main 100 countries in FIFA men’s rankings) and the 50 for the ladies’ prize (top 50 countries in the FIFA ladies’ rankings).

Ballon d’Or awards list

There were a sum of seven honors that were passed out on Monday at the Theater du Chatelet in Paris for the 66th version of the Ballon d’Or.

It was whenever that the Socrates first honor was passed out. The Gerd Muller Prize and Club of the Year were granted without precedent for 2021.

Men’s Ballon d’Or (Player of the Year): Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)

• Women’s Ballon d’Or (Player of the Year): Alexia Putellas (Barcelona)
• Kopa Trophy (Best U-21 men’s player): Gavi (Barcelona)
• Yashin Trophy (Best men’s GK): Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid)
• Gerd Muller Trophy (Top scorer): Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona)
• Socrates Award (for player acts of solidarity): Sadio Mane (Bayern Munich)
• Club of the Year (club with most Ballon d’Or nominees): Manchester City

Ballon d’Or final results (Men)

Karim Benzema became the fifth Frenchman and first since Zinedine Zidane in 1998 to win the Ballon d’Or. It was Zidane who presented him the trophy in Paris.

Final Rank	Name	Position	Club	National Team
1.	Karim Benzema	FW	Real Madrid	France
2.	Sadio Mane	FW	Liverpool / Bayern Munich	Senegal
3.	Kevin De Bruyne	MF	Man City	Belgium
4.	Robert Lewandowski	FW	Bayern Munich / Barcelona	Poland
5.	Mohamed Salah	FW	Liverpool	Egypt
6.	Kylian Mbappe	FW	PSG	France
7.	Thibaut Courtois	GK	Real Madrid	Belgium
8.	Vinicius Jr.	FW	Real Madrid	Brazil
9.	Luka Modric	MF	Real Madrid	Croatia
10.	Erling Haaland	FW	Man City	Norway
11.	Son Heung-min	FW	Tottenham	South Korea
12.	Riyad Mahrez	FW	Man City	Algeria
13.	Sebastien Haller	FW	Ajax / B. Dortmund	Ivory Coast
14.	Fabinho	MF	Liverpool	Brazil
	Rafael Leao	FW	AC Milan	Portugal
16.	Virgil van Dijk	DF	Liverpool	Netherlands
17.	Casemiro	MF	Real Madrid / Man United	Brazil
	Dusan Vlahovic	FW	Fiorentina / Juventus	Serbia
	Luis Diaz	FW	Porto / Liverpool	Colombia
20.	Cristiano Ronaldo	FW	Man United	Portugal
21.	Harry Kane	FW	Tottenham	England
22.	Trent Alexander-Arnold	DF	Liverpool	England
	Phil Foden	FW	Man City	England
	Bernardo Silva	MF	Man City	Portugal
25.	Joshua Kimmich	MF	Bayern Munich	Germany
	Mike Maignan	GK	AC Milan	France
	Antonio Rudiger	DF	Chelsea / Real Madrid	Germany
	Joao Cancelo	DF	Man City	Portugal
	Christopher Nkunku	FW	RB Leipzig	France
	Darwin Nunez	FW	Benfica / Liverpool	Uruguay

2022 Ballon d’Or final results (Women)

Final Rank	Name	Position	Club	National Team
1.	Alexia Putellas	MF	Barcelona	Spain
2.	Beth Mead	FW	Arsenal	England
3.	Sam Kerr	FW	Chelsea	Australia
4.	Lena Oberdorf	MF	VfL Wolfsburg	Germany
5.	Aitana Bonmati	MF	Barcelona	Spain
6.	Alexandra Popp	FW	VfL Wolfsburg	Germany
7.	Ada Hegerberg	FW	Lyon	Norway
8.	Wendie Renard	DF	Lyon	France
9.	Catarina Macario	MF/FW	Lyon	USA
10.	Lucy Bronze	DF	Manchester City (now Barcelona)	England
11.	Vivianne Miedema	FW	Arsenal	Netherlands
12.	Christiane Endler	GK	Lyon	Chile
13.	Alex Morgan	FW	Orlando Pride / San Diego Wave	USA
14.	Selma Bacha	DF	Lyon	France
15.	Millie Bright	DF	Chelsea	England
16.	Marie-Antoinette Katoto	FW	PSG	France
17.	Asisat Oshoala	FW	Barcelona	Nigeria
18.	Trinity Rodman	FW	Washington Spirit	USA
19.	Fridolina Rolfo	FW	Barcelona	Sweden
20.	Kadidiatou Diani	FW	PSG	France

2022 Kopa Trophy final rankings (Under-21)

Final Rank	Name	Position	Club	National Team
1.	Gavi	MF	Barcelona	Spain
2.	Eduardo Camavinga	MF	Real Madrid	France
3.	Jamal Musiala	MF	Bayern Munich	Germany
4.	Jude Bellingham	MF	Borussia Dortmund	England
5.	Nuno Mendes	DF	PSG	Portugal
6.	Josko Gvardiol	DF	RB Leipzig	Croatia
	Ryan Gravernberch	MF	Ajax	Netherlands
8.	Bukayo Saka	FW	Arsenal	England
9.	Karim Adeyemi	FW	Borussia Dortmund	Germany
10.	Florian Wirtz	MF	Bayer Leverkusen	Germany

2022 Yashin Trophy final rankings (Goalkeeper)

Final Rank	Name	Position	Club	National Team
1.	Thibaut Courtois	GK	Real Madrid	Belgium
2.	Alisson Becker	GK	Liverpool	Brazil
3.	Ederson	GK	Manchester City	Brazil
4.	Edouard Mendy	GK	Chelsea	Senegal
5.	Mike Maignan	GK	AC Milan	France
6.	Kevin Trapp	GK	Eintracht Frankfurt	Germany
7.	Manuel Neuer	GK	Bayern Munich	Germany
8.	Jan Oblak	GK	Atletico Madrid	Slovenia
9.	Yassine Bounou	GK	Sevilla	Morocco
10.	Hugo Lloris	GK	Tottenham Hotspur	France

Ballon d’Or live updates

All times ET

Close: That’s the end of the show. It was a night full of emotion, beginning with the Andrea Bocelli performance to start the night.

Putellas was retaliating tears as she works her direction back from injury, Sadio Mane essentially carries a grin to each fan, Robert Lewandowski really intended the thing he said about Gerd Muller, and the Karim Benzema family undertaking in front of an audience and his location to Ronaldo O Fenomeno and Zinedine Zidane was sincere.

What’s more, it was inspiring to see Sebastien Haller who is battling to return from testicular disease. Furthermore, ex-Ballon d’Or champ Andriy Shevchenko likewise maintained some kind of control while discussing Ukraine and interesting to the crowd not to disregard the conflict. It was a significant show all over.

4:10 p.m.: Benzema invited his mom and his son on stage and he lauded both Zidane and Ronaldo O Fenomeno for the inspiration they gave him. It was a mature acceptance speech and he’s also had months to prepare for this moment.

3:55 p.m.: Karim Benzema wins it. It’s Zidane who makes the announcement. And it’s Zidane who hands him the trophy.

Benzema calls Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldo O Fenomeno his venerated images, and he says he never surrendered in any event, when he was out of the French group for a period. There’s a fantastic video highlight that recounts the narrative of his ascent to best player on the planet.

3:54 p.m.: Previous Ballon d’Or victor and French World Cup legend Zinedine Zidane will introduce the prize.

3:52 p.m.: After the Manchester City acknowledgment discourse including Kevin De Bruyne, Ederson, boss executive Ferran Soriano and donning chief Txiki Beguiristain, this occasion is going to close with the men’s Ballon d’Or.

3:45 p.m.: Previous men’s Ballon d’Or victor Luis Figo is on the stage to grant the Club of the Year. A video shows that Genuine Madrid came in third spot, Liverpool completed on top of them in runner up in spite of losing to Los Blancos in the Bosses Association last.

Furthermore, the victor is Manchester City in the wake of winning the Chief Association and arriving at the elimination rounds of the UEFA Champions Association. Moreover, the club had six chosen people for the Ballon d’Or, including Lucy Bronze for the ladies’ honor.

3:35 p.m.: They’re enjoying one more short reprieve and going through the features of the multitude of men’s players from No. 30 to No. 5.

3:30 p.m.: It’s the ideal opportunity for the Yashin Prize for Goalkeeper of the Year in 2021/22. Borussia Dortmund striker Sebastien Haller, who is engaging testicular malignant growth, presents the honor.

Also, nothing unexpected Genuine Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois wins it. He was the Man of the Match in the UEFA Champions Association last.

3:28 p.m.: Ballon d’Or (men). We get the following three players in the positioning: Thibaut Courtois (No. 7), Kylian Mbappe (No. 6), and Mohamed Salah (No. 5).

3:26 p.m.: After a Lewandowski feature reel video, Didier Drogba calls him out by getting some information about Erling Haaland coming after him. (Was that truly essential?)

“I realize that the new age is additionally coming,” Lewandowski said. “Yet, I’m still here and I haven’t said the final word yet.3:20 p.m.: It’s Robert Lewandowski who wins the award for the second season in a row as the world’s best striker for the 2021/22 campaign. He scored 57 total goals in 2021/22 (50 for Bayern and 7 for Poland).

3:17 p.m.: After a pause in the show, it’s time for the Gerd Muller Award honoring the top men’s striker. Muller’s wife and daughter are on the stage to present the trophy.

3:01 p.m.: Alexia Putellas wins the Ballon d’Or again. Second year in a row for the Barcelona and Spain star.

“On July 5 when I suffered my injury, I didn’t think this would be possible,” Putellas said on stage. “I hope the next time I speak it will be on the field.”

2:56 p.m.: Women’s Ballon d’Or. It’s time to crown the best women’s player on the planet. The five finalists: Bonmati, Mead, Kerr, Oberdorf and Putellas.

But before the award, 2004 Ballon d’Or winner and Ukrainian star Andriy Shevchenko, who will present the women’s award, offered the following message followed by a lengthy applause from the crowd on hand.

2:53 p.m.: Bayern Munich forward Sadio Mane wins the debut Socrates grant. The most delightful individual in football and Senegal’s all’s public group chief procures it. He’s known for all the great he moves home in Africa, building schools and medical clinics in his home country.2:48 p.m.: Time for the Socrates Grant. Socrates’ sibling Rai, who played for PSG in France and Brazil, is on the stage and will introduce this prize which perceives showings of fortitude by a player. It’s the main year that this grant is being introduced.

2:45 p.m.: Men’s Ballon d’Or: We figure out that Erling Haaland (No. 10), Luka Modric (No. 9) and Vinicius Jr. (No. 8) are the following up.

2:43 p.m.: Barcelona’s Gavi wins the Kopa Prize. Two years straight that a Barcelona player takes it. Furthermore, he closes his acknowledgment discourse with a “Vizca Barca.”

2:39 p.m.: The Kopa Prize is up first. Ronaldo O Fenomeno and last year’s victor Pedri will introduce this honor. Recall that Pedri didn’t take care of business despite the fact that he was still age qualified.

2:36 p.m.: Didier Drogba and Sandy Heribert are on the stage. Everybody is as yet moving past Bocelli’s exhibition. Give everybody a couple of moments.

They helped everybody to remember the seven honors available for anyone. Furthermore, presently there’s a video montage of the last 10 men’s players who still can’t seem to be positioned. We’ll find out soon enough.

2:30 p.m.: The proper service is in progress with Andrea Bocelli singing Nessun Dorma. Class. We’re getting the feels as of now.

2:26 p.m.: The Ballon d’Or makes the most amazing entry of all:

2:17 p.m.: The Barcelona group prepare as a unit. Players from all kinds of people groups together.

2:00 p.m.: Tupac fan Karim Benzema giving proper respect:

1:52 p.m.: Zinedine Zidane in the house. It’d be a smart idea in the event that he were the one to introduce the prize to Karim Benzema. Zizou was the last French player to win the distinction in 1998.

1:05 p.m.: Honorary pathway activity starts in stormy Paris. Here is USWNT’s Trinity Rodman, Dortmund forward Sebastien Haller, and Eintracht Frankfurt goalkeeper Kevin Trapp.

12:50 p.m.: Tottenham’s Child Heung-min takes the No. 11 spot, and that implies the Main 10 will remember (in sequential request): Benzema, Courtois, De Bruyne, Haaland, Lewandowski, Mane, Mbappe, Modric, Salah, and Vinicius Jr.

12:28 p.m.: What about Rafael Leao (No. 14) positioned in front of his Portuguese colleague Cristiano Ronaldo (No. 20). The group accomplishments might have impacted this positioning since Leao’s AC Milan brought home the Italian championship.

The other eyebrow-raiser in this latest batch is Riyad Mahrez (No. 12) ranked way ahead of teammate Bernardo Silva (No. 12), who was so good (and important) for City last season. But production matters, and Mahrez found a way to rack up 24 goals and 9 assists in 2021/22, while Silva had 13 goals / 7 assists.

Who will win Ballon d’Or?

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

The accompanying chances came kindness of Canada-based Sports Communication, who draped the accompanying numbers ahead of the pack up to the occasion. It’s in any case fascinating to see the names of the three players who were accepted to have the following best chances behind Benzema.

Player	Club (2021/22)	Nationality	Odds
Karim Benzema	Real Madrid	France	-2500
Sadio Mane	Liverpool	Senegal	+1049
Mohamed Salah	Liverpool	Egypt	+1223
Kylian Mbappe	PSG	France	+1748
Kevin de Bruyne	Man City	Belgium	+2184
Virgil van Dijk	Liverpool	Netherlands	+2621
Robert Lewandowski	Bayern Munich	Poland	+2621
Cristiano Ronaldo	Man United	Portugal	+3495

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 were 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 modest bunch of changes to the democratic cycle presented for 2022.

Media citizens were restricted to a solitary media part from the main 100 nations in the FIFA rankings for men, and the best 50 countries from ladies’ rankings. The conviction is that this would guarantee a more learned citizen base given the significance of football in the nation and the probability that matches from around the world are accessible to watch.

Casting a ballot models were refreshed to kill thought for generally profession execution and on second thought center around three primary elements:

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.

What time was the Ballon d’Or ceremony

The conventional function for the 66th version of the Ballon d’Or started off at 8:30 p.m. neighborhood time (14:30 ET/19:30 BST) at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, France. In any case, honorary pathway inclusion started off about one hour prior.

Grant coordinators France Football started disclosing the men’s Ballon d’Or rankings four hours prior to starting at 4:30 p.m. Paris time, as an approach to developing the buzz for the occasion. They left the Best 10 uncover for the conventional service.

Where to watch Ballon d’Or 2022

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

	Date	Time	TV channel	Streaming
Australia	Tue, Oct. 18	05:30 AEST	SBS	SBS On Demand
Canada	Mon, Oct. 17	14:30 ET	—	DAZN.com, DAZN YouTube
India	Tue, Oct. 18	00:00 IST	Sony TEN 2	SonyLIV app/site
Malaysia	Tue, Oct. 18	02:30 MT	—	L’Equipe site, YouTube
New Zealand	Tue, Oct. 18	07:30 NZST	—	L’Equipe site, YouTube
Singapore	Tue, Oct. 18	02:30 SST	—	L’Equipe site, YouTube
UK	Mon, Oct. 17	19:30 BST	—	L’Equipe site, YouTube
USA	Mon, Oct. 17	14:30 ET	—	Paramount+

Ballon d’Or live stream

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