The 2021 Ballon d’Or will not even have the opportunity to garner votes in 2022. For the first time in 17 years, Lionel Messi is not among the 30 nominees unveiled this Friday evening by France Football. An event for the seven-time winner of the most prestigious individual trophy, even if seeing him appear in this list would have been the real surprise after a gloomy season on the side of PSG. On the other hand, his Portuguese rival Cristiano Ronaldo is present.
The list of nominees
- Trent ALEXANDER-ARNOLD (THE, Liverpool)
- Karim Benzema (FRA, Real Madrid)
- João CANCEL (POR, Manchester City)
- CASEMIRO (BRE, Real Madrid)
- Thibaut COURTOIS (BEL, Real Madrid)
- CRISTIANO RONALDO (POR, Manchester United)
- Kevin DE BRUYNE (BEL, Manchester City)
- Luis Diaz (COL, FC Porto then Liverpool)
- FABINHO (BRE, Liverpool)
- Phil FODEN (THE, Manchester City)
- Erling HAALAND (NOR, Borussia Dortmund beat Manchester City)
- Sebastien Haller (CIV, Ajax puis Borussia Dortmund)
- Harry KANE (THE, Tottenham)
- Joshua KIMMICH (ALL, Bayern Munich)
- Raphael LEAO (BY, AC Milan)
- Robert LEWANDOWSKI (POL, Bayern Munich and FC Barcelona)
- Riyad Mahrez (ALG, Manchester City)
- Mike MAIGNAN (FRA, AC Milan)
- Sadio MANE (SEN, Liverpool vs Bayern Munich)
- Kylian MBAPPE (FRA, Paris-SG)
- MODRIC Wound (CRO, Real Madrid)
- Christopher HEAD (FRA, RB Leipzig)
- Darwin NUÑEZ (URU, Benfica then Liverpool)
- Antonio Ruediger (ALL, Chelsea then Real Madrid)
- Mohamed is WRONG (ONE, Liverpool)
- Bernardo Silva (POR, Manchester City)
- SON Heung-min (CDS, Tottenham)
- Virgil VAN DYK (WHERE, Liverpool)
- VINCIUS JUNIOR (BRE, Real Madrid)
- Dusan VLAHOVIC (SER, Fiorentina then Juventus)
And Lionel Messi is not the only prestigious absentee: his Parisian teammate Neymar is not among the 30 named either. The Brazilian was systematically part of this list since 2011, ten nominations in a row (the 2020 edition having been canceled). The South Americans therefore leave Kylian Mbappé as the sole representative of the “MNM” of PSG.
The French striker is aiming for a place on the Ballon d’Or podium this year after a brilliant individual season with PSG and Les Bleus. Which would be his first top-three appearance after finishing seventh (2017), fourth (2018), sixth (2019) and ninth (2021). The big favorite for the 2022 edition is Karim Benzema, winner of La Liga and the Champions League with Real Madrid. Club he led to success by scoring 44 goals in 46 games.
Two other French, both trained at PSG, appear in the selection: Mike Maignan and Christopher Nkunku.