Where and when does the ceremony take place?
It is at the Théâtre du Châtelet, in the center of Paris, that the Ballon d'Or 2022 will be awarded.
The ceremony will open at 8:30 p.m. and will be broadcast both on
the L'Équipe channel
and in streaming, on the Youtube channel and the
L'Équipe
website .
Besides the best player, the best player (Women's Ballon d'Or), the best hope (Kopa Trophy) and the best goalkeeper (Yachine Trophy) will be rewarded.
To discover
Messi sacred, Benzema 4th: the complete list of the Ballon d'Or 2021
Ballon d'Or: winners, results, complete ranking...
How is the winner chosen?
The Ballon d'Or regulations have been reformed.
From now on, the trophy is aligned on a season – in this case, for this year, on the 2021-2022 financial year – and no longer on a calendar year.
“
This is the opportunity to give new impetus.
Before, we judged on two half-seasons.
It will be more readable
, ”explained the editor-in-chief of
France Football
, Pascal Ferré last March.
The jury, meanwhile, has been narrowed and modified.
In the old formula, once the candidates had been nominated, one hundred and seventy journalists from all over the world were invited to speak.
From now on, in order to focus on "
an elite of real connoisseurs
", in the words of
France Football
, they are only one hundred, coming from the first hundred nations of the FIFA ranking.
Read alsoBallon d'Or: "Benzema is one of the favorites to win it, if they don't cancel it, of course", quips Lewandowski
Also, the criteria have changed a bit.
Finally, a lot.
Because the "
player's career
" criterion , which could benefit certain great players like Lionel Messi to the detriment of others, less important in terms of history, has simply been removed.
It is "
a way of considering the race for the Ballon d'Or as an open competition, and not as a private preserve
", affirmed, again last March, Pascal Ferré.
To choose, the voters must base themselves on the one hand on "
the individual performances and the decisive and impressive character of the contenders
", on the other hand on "
the collective performances and the prize list accumulated during the season"
and finally on "
the class of the player and his sense of fair play
”.
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What are the main favourites?
There is (almost) little suspense.
Among the thirty players selected for the male distinction, one of the game emerges quite naturally.
This is Karim Benzema.
The captain and attacking leader of Real Madrid took his team to the national crown but above all to the top of Europe by allowing it to win the fourteenth Champions League in its history.
In addition, the "Nueve", also distinguished himself highly under the colors of the France team, scoring both in the semi-finals and in the final of the League of Nations, to help the Blues lift the trophy in October 2021.
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The incredible rise of Karim Benzema at Real Madrid
The center-forward trained at Olympique Lyonnais thus fulfills all the criteria and clearly serves as the big (and only) favorite.
Robert Lewandowski agrees: "
He's probably one of the favorites to win the Ballon d'Or, if they don't cancel it, obviously
," said the Pole, referring to the cancellation of the Ballon d'Or.
'But in 2020, which he could (should?) have won.
Regarding the podium, Sadio Mané, unfortunate finalist of the C1 and winner of the African Cup of Nations with Senegal, seems to leave with a slight advantage.
Behind, Mohamed Salah, Robert Lewandowski, Kevin De Bruyne, Vinicius Junior or Kylian Mbappé also have reason to hope.