| 2022 Ballon d'Or | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
2022 Ballon d'Or winnerKarim Benzema | ||||
| Date | 17 October 2022 | |||
| Location | Théâtre du Châtelet,Paris | |||
| Presented by | France Football | |||
| Hosted by | Sandy Heribert Didier Drogba | |||
| Highlights | ||||
| Ballon d'Or | (1st award) | |||
| Ballon d'Or Féminin | (2nd award) | |||
| Kopa Trophy | (1st award) | |||
| Yashin Trophy | (1st award) | |||
| Sócrates Award | (1st award) | |||
| Website | francefootball.fr/ballon-d-or | |||
| ||||
The2022 Ballon d'Or (lit. '2022 Golden Ball') was the 66th annual presentation of theBallon d'Or, presented byFrance Football, recognising the best footballers in the world during the 2021–22 season. For the first time in the history of the award, it was given based on the results of the European season, instead of the calendar year.[1] The nominees for the ceremony were announced on 12 August 2022,[2] and the ceremony was held on 17 October.[3]
Karim Benzema won theBallon d'Or, for successfully leadingReal Madrid to win bothUEFA Champions League andLa Liga.[4][5]Alexia Putellas claimed theBallon d'Or Féminin, following her successful domestic campaign withBarcelona.[6] In the other award categories,Gavi was given theKopa Trophy,Thibaut Courtois won theYashin Trophy,Robert Lewandowski was presented the newly namedGerd Müller Trophy,[7]Sadio Mané was awarded the inauguralSócrates Award,[8] andManchester City claimed the Club of the Year award.[6][9] Reigning winnerLionel Messi was not nominated for the award for the first time since2005.[10]
Following a successful season withReal Madrid,Karim Benzema was awarded the 2022Ballon d'Or, finishing ahead ofSadio Mané in second place andKevin De Bruyne in third.[6] With his club, Benzema won theUEFA Champions League and theLa Liga title.[4] He was instrumental in the Spanish side's progress through theknockout phase of the Champions League, scoring crucial goals againstManchester City in the semi-final legs, as well as nettinghat-tricks againstParis Saint-Germain andChelsea in the round of 16 and quarter-finals respectively.[4] He was selected in the tournament's team of the season as the top scorer and Player of the Season.[11][12][13] In thedomestic league, Benzema won thePichichi Trophy as the top scorer,[14] earning a place in the La Liga Team of the Season.[15] WithFrance, he helped win the country's firstUEFA Nations League, scoring in thefinal with a 'Player of the match' performance.[16] Among other awards, Benzema won the 2021French Player of the Year,[17]La Liga Player of the Season,[18] Real Madrid Player of the Season,[19] theOnze d'Or,[20] and was selected in theIFFHS,[21]European Sports Media,[22] andL'Équipe teams of the season.[23]
For players who appeared for multiple clubs during the season, only the most recent club is listed:

Alexia Putellas won the 2022Ballon d'Or Féminin finishing ahead ofEuropean championBeth Mead andAustralian internationalSam Kerr.[24] She had a successful season withBarcelona, scoring in theUEFA Women's Champions League final,[25] and winning thePrimera División,Copa de la Reina andSupercopa de España.[26] Putellas scored 34 goals within 42 appearances in all competitions,[26] and she was awardedUWCL Player of the Season and included in the2021–22 UWCL Team of the Season;[27][28] she was also later awardedThe Best FIFA Women's Player of the year,[29] theUEFA Women's Player of the Year Award,[30] and theIFFHS Women's Player and Playmaker of the Year.[31][32]
For players who appeared for multiple clubs during the season, only the most recent club is listed:
| Rank | Player | Nationality | Position | Club | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alexia Putellas | Midfielder | 178 | ||
| 2 | Beth Mead | Forward | 152 | ||
| 3 | Sam Kerr | Forward | 74 | ||
| 4 | Lena Oberdorf | Midfielder | 44 | ||
| 5 | Aitana Bonmatí | Midfielder | 43 | ||
| 6 | Alexandra Popp | Forward | 37 | ||
| 7 | Ada Hegerberg | Forward | 29 | ||
| 8 | Wendie Renard | Defender | 26 | ||
| 9 | Catarina Macario | Midfielder | 21 | ||
| 10 | Lucy Bronze | Defender | 20 | ||
| 11 | Vivianne Miedema | Forward | 14 | ||
| 12 | Christiane Endler | Goalkeeper | 10 | ||
| 13 | Alex Morgan | Forward | 10 | ||
| 14 | Selma Bacha | Defender | 9 | ||
| 15 | Millie Bright | Defender | 6 | ||
| 16 | Asisat Oshoala | Forward | 4 | ||
| 17 | Marie-Antoinette Katoto | Forward | 4 | ||
| 18 | Trinity Rodman | Forward | 3 | ||
| 19 | Fridolina Rolfö | Forward | 3 | ||
| 20 | Kadidiatou Diani | Forward | 1 |

Gavi won the 2022Kopa Trophy, awarded to the best performing footballer under the age of 21 during the season; he finished ahead of the likes ofEduardo Camavinga andJamal Musiala, who had successful club seasons withReal Madrid andBayern Munich respectively.[33] Starting his season as a relatively unknown Spanish academy product,[5] Gavi was handed hisBarcelona debut aged 17 againstGetafe in August 2021, making him the fourth youngest player to play inLa Liga for Barcelona.[34] After he established himself as a regular inRonald Koeman's side,Spain national team managerLuis Enrique gave him a senior debut againstItaly in theUEFA Nations Leaguesemi-final on 6 October 2021, making him the youngest player to represent the national team.[5][35] Despite not winning any trophies at club or international level, Gavi personally had a successful club season with Barcelona, scoring two goals in 47 appearances in all competitions, playing regularly as a midfielder.[36]
For players who appeared for multiple clubs during the season, only the most recent club is listed:
| Rank | Player | Nationality | Position | Club | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gavi | Midfielder | 59 | ||
| 2 | Eduardo Camavinga | Midfielder | 51 | ||
| 3 | Jamal Musiala | Midfielder | 47 | ||
| 4 | Jude Bellingham | Midfielder | 31 | ||
| 5 | Nuno Mendes | Defender | 9 | ||
| 6 | Ryan Gravenberch | Midfielder | 3 | ||
| Joško Gvardiol | Defender | ||||
| 8 | Bukayo Saka | Midfielder | 3 | ||
| 9 | Karim Adeyemi | Forward | 1 | ||
| 10 | Florian Wirtz | Midfielder | 0 |

Belgian internationalThibaut Courtois won the 2022Yashin Trophy, awarded to the best performing goalkeeper during the 2021–22 season.[37] During a very successful campaign withReal Madrid, he won both theUEFA Champions League andLa Liga as a regular in the team, establishing himself as a prominent contender for the award.[37] Aged 30 at the time of receiving the award, Courtois made the most saves of any goalkeeper featuring in the2021–22 UEFA Champions League; during the competition'sfinal againstLiverpool, he made nine saves and was namedman of the match.[38] Courtois won the award ahead ofAlisson andEderson, who both shared the2021–22 Premier LeagueGolden Glove.[37] The 2021 award winner,Gianluigi Donnarumma, was not nominated for the award.[39]
| Rank | Player | Nationality | Club | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thibaut Courtois | 456 | ||
| 2 | Alisson | 108 | ||
| 3 | Ederson | 72 | ||
| 4 | Édouard Mendy | 61 | ||
| 5 | Mike Maignan | 45 | ||
| 6 | Kevin Trapp | 27 | ||
| 7 | Manuel Neuer | 25 | ||
| 8 | Jan Oblak | 17 | ||
| 9 | Yassine Bounou | 17 | ||
| 10 | Hugo Lloris | 9 |

Polish strikerRobert Lewandowski won the 2022Gerd Müller Trophy, awarded to the highest-scoring striker of the 2021–22 season. After previously being known as the Striker of the Year award it was renamed as the Gerd Müller Trophy after German strikerGerd Müller died in August 2021.[7] Lewandowski scored 57 goals in 56 matches, seven more than second placedKylian Mbappé; he also finished fourth in the 2022 Ballon d'Or ranking, behind onlyKarim Benzema,Sadio Mané andKevin De Bruyne.[7][6] During his prolific season withBayern Munich, Lewandowski lifted the Bundesliga title, as well as earning other personal honours such as theEuropean Golden Shoe and theGolden Foot.[40][41] This was Lewandowski's second time winning the award, after he won the inaugural edition in 2021.[7]
| Rank | Player | Nationality | Position | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Robert Lewandowski | Forward | 57 |

On 21 September 2022,France Football announced the creation of the 'Sócrates Award' which identifies "the best solidarity actions carried out by committed champions."[42] The award is named after the late Brazilian footballerSócrates, in honour of the player using his platform as an international footballer to support democratic regimes and opposing themilitary dictatorship in Brazil at the time.[43][44] Sócrates co-founded theCorinthians' Democracy, an ideological football movement originating within the Brazilian clubCorinthians which fought against the authoritarian regime by promoting democratic practices within the region,[43] including urging people to vote in Brazilian multiparty elections.[45]Liverpool playerSadio Mané won the inaugural award for charity work conducted in his home country,Senegal.[43] The forward financed and reinvested in new facilities within his hometownBambali, including a school, petrol station and hospital.[46][47] Mané donated to the Senegalese National Committee fighting against theCOVID-19 pandemic.[48] Additionally, he financed a4G internet service for the town and commissioned a €70-a-monthstipend to each family in his hometown.[49] Outside of his charity work, Mané had a successful personal season with Liverpool, winning theFA Cup andEFL Cup and reaching theUEFA Champions League final;[50] he also won the2021 Africa Cup of Nations withSenegal midway through the European domestic season.[51]
| Player | Nationality | Position | Club |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sadio Mané | Forward |

English clubManchester City won Club of the Year ahead ofLiverpool,Real Madrid andLyon. With the most Ballon d'Or and Ballon d'Or Féminin player nominations, Manchester City succeededChelsea as the second club to win the award following the award's introduction in 2021.[9] The club hadJoão Cancelo,Kevin De Bruyne,Phil Foden,Riyad Mahrez andBernardo Silva nominated for the season's Ballon d'Or, following theirPremier League triumph. Additionally,Lucy Bronze, fromManchester City Women, was nominated for the Ballon d'Or Féminin, totalling six players from the club.[6] Manchester City finished ahead of Liverpool despite having the same number of player nominations; because City's nominations were spread across the two categories, they were given the award.[52]
| Rank | Club | Total | Ballon d'Or | Ballon d'Or Féminin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | |||
| 2 | 6 | None | ||
| 3 | 5 | None | ||
| 5 | None |
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