When Leo Messi won his seventh Golden Ball last November, a riot broke out.
Many people have failed to understand how it is possible that Messi overtook Robert Lewandowski in the fight for the most prestigious personal award in world football.
True, Messi won in 2021 the Copa America.
He also scored 40 goals during the calendar year.
But on the other hand he failed at Barcelona and also his first months at Paris Saint-Germain were very disappointing.
Leo Messi, Photo: Reuters
In contrast, the Polish star of Bayern Munich scored in 2021 no less than 69 goals in all competitions, in the uniform of Bayern and the Polish national team.
He broke the league record for one season in the Bundesliga, a record that lasted 50 years, and of course won the championship with Bayern Munich.
The words "conspiracy" and "politics" were heard quite a bit in the hours and days after the ceremony.
And not just because of the fact that Messi defeated Lewandowski, in what many see as historical injustice.
Also the fact that Muhammad Salah, the biggest star of Liverpool, the top scorer of the Premier League, finished only in seventh place - after Giorgini, Kerim Benzema, Angulo Canta and Cristiano Ronaldo - caused eyebrows to be raised.
So no one really believes that "Gone Hand" is stirring behind the scenes and changing the results, but those who have been behind the annual poll for 65 years, the people of the editorial staff of "France Football", have realized that their reputation has been damaged.
That a mess needs to be put in order.
Robert Lewandowski, Photo: getty
So far, those who participated in the annual selection have been journalists from 170 countries around the world, each of whom has chosen the five best players in the world in the past year.
That is, from January to December.
But wait, if the ceremony took place in late November and the journalists were asked to send out their election at least a month before, then we are basically talking about only 10 months, January to October.
problematic.
And why should the selection be based on a calendar year, when almost all over the world the football season begins in August and ends in May?
Another problem.
Not to mention the bizarre choices of journalists from esoteric countries.
For example, in 2021, the Uzbek Gregory Ratbeldeza selected Ambape first and Mason Mount second.
Pasang Norbo from Bhutan did not think Messi and Lewandowski should be in the top five, he chose Salah, Canta, Land, Puden and Benzema.
Kyrgyzstan's Terrace Lipenko has remained loyal to Cristiano Ronaldo, despite the Portuguese's mediocre 2021, putting him in first place.
He was followed by Giorgini, Benzema, Bonucci and Lukaku.
Lewandowski and Messi?
No way.
The criticism did not fall on deaf ears.
The editors of France Football, who have already revolutionized the voting system in the past, have announced four new changes.
First, for the first time the choice will be seasonal, not annual.
That is, from now on the reference will be to the players' achievements in the period between August and July.
So it's true that this summer there will be no major international events in men's football, but the European Women's Championship will be held in England in July, and as we know since 2018 the women's gold ball is also awarded every year.
The exact date of the 2022 Golden Ball award ceremony has not yet been set, but it is expected to happen in October, about a month before the start of the World Cup in Qatar (the results of which will be taken into account for the 2023 Golden Ball).
The second change is related to the selection of candidates.
Every year, the football experts of "France Football" and "Lakip" gather to select the 30 candidates for the men's title, the 20 candidates among the women, the 10 candidates for the "Yashin Prize" (the best goalkeeper in the world), and the 10 candidates for the "Coupe Prize". (The best young actor in the world).
French journalists will be joined this time by Didier Drogba, the former star of Chelsea and Ivory Coast, the host of the ceremony, as well as two foreign journalists - the ones who were precise in their choice in 2021 - Vietnamese Trong Ann Angok and Carolina Lewczkova of the Czech Republic.
The goal is to add more, external votes, so as not to repeat a mistake like last year, when Sadio Mane was not included in the 30 candidates, but Gerard Moreno was.
The third change has to do with the identity of the voters.
And that requires going back in time.
In 1956, the first golden ball was awarded to the Englishman Stanley Matthews, journalists from 16 countries chose him as the player of the year in Europe.
Thus it lasted almost 40 years, the prestigious title was awarded to European players only.
South America had a separate referendum, first organized by the newspaper "El Mundo" of Venezuela, and then "El Pais" of Uruguay.
And so it was in Africa and Asia.
In the 50s and 60s it still made sense.
But by the 80s it had already become absurd, so for example Diego Maradona - even though he played in Naples - was never even a contender for the title!
In 1986, when Diego was at his peak and led Argentina to win the World Cup, the winner of the Golden Ball was the Russian Igor Blanov, perhaps the most anonymous winner in history.
Even Romario, the hero of Brazil's World Cup victory, was not nominated at all in 1994, when he was the big star of Barcelona, a strictly kosher European team.
In "France Football" they understood that they were making fun of themselves, so from 1995 it was possible to vote for non-European footballers as well - as long as they play in Europe.
Coincidence or not, but in 1995 he won the title of AC Milan's liberal striker, George Wah - the only African winner to date.
Fifteen years ago came another significant change.
Until 2007 voters were only journalists from European countries, but then it was over.
The French realized that there was an unpleasant odor of outdated European condescension here.
And so we came to a situation where in 2021 representatives from 170 countries from all over the world participated in the vote.
True, very democratic - but also populist and not entirely professional.
Therefore, starting in 2022, the number of voters will be reduced: 100 among men and 50 among women.
And this will be determined according to ... the FIFA ranking of the national teams!
If we look at the current ranking (it will change slightly by August-September), then Equatorial Guinea and Palestine are in (99th and 100th), while New Zealand (101) and Cyprus (105) are out.
The Israeli representative in the election (writing these lines) can be calm.
The Israeli team is currently ranked 76th in the world ... By the way, Israel's women's team is also ranked 76th in the world, but in this case the Israeli media representative will not be on the list of voters.
And we have reached the fourth change, in which it will finally be clarified not only what to vote for - but especially what not to vote for.
Here is the official explanation: "Since voting criteria have not changed since 1956, it is time to refresh and renew them. The Golden Ball is first and foremost a personal title and therefore Criterion # 1 will focus on players' personal achievements and their personal impact on team performance. But because football is a team sport "Criterion # 2 will focus on the results, achievements and titles the players have won. Criterion # 3 will focus on the player's class and fairness, as he should serve as an example and role model."
It's pretty clear, only now comes the really important clarification: "Players' careers and past achievements will no longer be considered a criterion in voting. In other words, it should be clearly stated that the Golden Ball will henceforth crown the best player in the world, in a given season."
In other words, the fact that Messi and Ronaldo are the best of all time is not at all relevant to the choice.
Because there was a feeling that the two have received quite a few votes in recent years thanks to the aura that surrounds them, thanks to the admiration they receive, even in relatively less good years.
So it could be that Messi and Ronaldo will be included among the 30 candidates of 2022, because after all they both led their teams to promotion to the World Cup.
But it's hard to believe they'll be in the top ten.
So who will be there?
The one who will almost certainly decide this is the Champions League.
After all, it will be the most significant title of the year without the World Cup, Euros and Copa America.
Currently the leading candidate is Karim Benzema, who is giving the best season of his career.
The 34-year-old French striker has already scored 39 goals (and 13 more assists) in a Real Madrid uniform, including two stunning hat-tricks against PSG and Chelsea.
Real will win the Spanish championship, it is already clear.
And if it also wins the Champions League, there is no chance that Benzema will not win the Golden Ball.
But first Real have to beat Manchester City in the semi-finals, and if that happens, Liverpool will probably wait for them in the final (and sorry in advance from Villarreal).
Kerim Benzema,
And from Liverpool - which aims to end the season with four titles - come the next two candidates to win the 2022 Golden Ball, Muhammad Salah and Sadio Mane.
Salah has already scored 30 goals in 42 games for Liverpool this season, and is currently also the top scorer and top scorer in the Premier League.
But Salah lost in the final of the African Championship to Sadio Mane's Senegal, and against the same Senegal also lost in the playoffs to the World Cup.
So when it comes to team accomplishments, Mana beats Salah.
And in the Liverpool uniform he has a really good season, with 19 goals.
Of course, if Liverpool fail and Manchester City win the championship and the Champions League, Belgian Kevin de Bruyne will have a fair chance of winning the Balloon d'Or.
Salah and Mana, Photo: AFP
We must not forget Killian Mbabane, who on a personal level is having a great season (33 goals and 22 assists) and Lewandowski (47 goals this season), even though PSG and Bayern Munich have been relegated from the Champions League.
Killian Ambape,
Thibaut Courtois and Luca Modric will also probably be in the top ten, but it's hard to see one of them winning the title.
There are five weeks left until the end of the football season, at the end of which we will know not only who will be the champion in England (in Spain, Germany and France the fight has already been decided) and who will win the Champions League - but also who will win the 2022 Golden Ball.
So who will it be, Krim Benzema, Muhammad Salah, Sadio Mane or Kevin de Bruyne?
It is impossible to know at the moment, but one thing is certain: this time we will not have to wait until November.
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