Ballon d’Or 2022: How Champions League success impacts voting for France Football’s annual award
Karim Benzema, Robert Lewandowski, Mohamed Salah and Kylian Mbappe are the top four contenders for this year's Ballon d'Or. Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Liverpool are in the Champions League quarter-finals. The bookmakers' favourites for the award are Real, Liverpool, PSG and Benzemba.
Lionel Messi won the Ballon d'Or in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018. Cristiano Ronaldo won it three times. Luka Modric won once. Winning the Champions League has been decisive factor on nine of the past 14 occasions. Messi's non-Champions League wins came after a strong year in terms of goals. Argentina's Copa America triumph in 2021 was a factor in his winning the award.
2000: Luis Figo (Barcelona/Real Madrid) – Champions League semi-finals. 2001: Michael Owen (Liverpool) not in Champions league. 2002: Ronaldo (Inter/ Real Madrid), 2003: Pavel Nedved (Juventus), 2004: Andriy Shevchenko (AC Milan), 2005: Ronaldinho (Barca), 2006: Fabio Cannavaro (Real), 2007: Kaka (Milan), 2008: Cristiano Ronaldo, 2009: Lionel Messi, 2010: Messi and Barcelona won Champions Leagues. 2011: Messi won the Champions Cup. 2012: 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015: Real won it.
The Champions League winners usually have at least one player in the top 10. This has become a bigger factor in recent years. Liverpool have four players in 2019, compared to Barcelona in 2009 and 2015. Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk will be the second choice player.
The Champions League outcome will have a say on the Ballon d'Or voting for 2022. Kevin De Bruyne could be the favourite if Manchester City win the Champions league. If Liverpool win, Mohamed Salah could become the favorite.
