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BY LEWIS PANGRATIOU, SAM HILL
UPDATED18:17, 17 OCT 2022
The Ballon d'Or Trophy presented during the The Ballon d'Or ceremony at Theatre du Chatelet on November 29, 2021 in Paris, France. (Photo by Aurelien Meunier/Getty Images)
The Ballon d'Or Trophy presented during the The Ballon d'Or ceremony at Theatre du Chatelet on November 29, 2021 in Paris, France. (Photo by Aurelien Meunier/Getty Images)(Image: Photo by Aurelien Meunier/Getty Images)
Hello and welcome along to football.london's live Ballon d'Or ceremony blog!

Another year has been and gone as the world's best players battle it out for what is the most prestigious individual award in football. Perhaps surprisingly, last year's winner Lionel Messi has not made the men's shortlist for the first time since 2005.

This year’s shortlist has been put forward by France Football and significantly, the award is now based on performances over the season, rather than a calendar year. Several Premier League stars have made the 30-man shortlist, with Trent Alexander-Arnold, Phil Foden and Harry Kane three English players to be nominated. Real Madrid's Karim Benzema is the strong favourite to win having captained Real Madrid to La Liga and Champions League success last season.

The Men's Ballon d'Or isn't the only award being handed out, though, as the Feminin Ballon d’Or winner will also be announced.


READ MORE: 'Time-wasting' - National media react to Arsenal's narrow victory over Leeds to cement top spot

England stars Lucy Bronze, Millie Bright and Beth Mead are the Three Lionesses who made the shortlist, whilst Chelsea’s Sam Kerr and Arsenal’s Vivianne Miedema are also considered to be amongst the best 20 players in the world. That being said, Alexia Putellas of Barcelona Femeni - who missed this summer's European Championships through injury - is favourite to win.


Elsewhere, Bukayo Saka is on the ten-man shortlist for the Kopa Trophy, given to the best men's under-21 player. However, Barcelona's Pedri and Borussia Dortmund's Jude Bellingham will be looking to stop him from winning.

Four Premier League goalkeepers - including Tottenham's Hugo Lloris and Chelsea's Edouard Mendy - have also been nominated for the Yashin Trophy, previously won by Paris-Saint Germain shot stoppper, Gianluigi Donnarumma.

With all that in mind, make sure to stay tuned throughout the evening as we bring you live coverage of everything that happens!

18:17SAM HILL
Kylian Mbappe equals Thierry Henry Ballon d'Or record

18:16SAM HILL
Bukayo Saka ready for the Ballon d'Or ceremony!
Arsenal star Bukayo Saka is one of the ten nominees for the Ballon d'Or Kopa Trophy awarded to the best player aged under 21-years-old.


18:13SAM HILL
The top 10 nominees
The remaining nominees yet to be ranked include:

Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)
Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid)
Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid)
Luka Modric (Real Madrid)
Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich/FC Barcelona)
Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund/Manchester City)
Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain)
Sadio Mane (Liverpool/Bayern Munich)
Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)

MADRID, SPAIN - OCTOBER 16: Karim Benzema of Real Madrid CF celebrates goal prior the referee cancel the goal during the LaLiga Santander match between Real Madrid CF and FC Barcelona at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on October 16, 2022 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Diego Souto/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images)
18:02SAM HILL
Son Heung-min misses out on top 10
Tottenham star Son Heung-min has finished 11th.


LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 12: Heung-Min Son of Tottenham Hotspur ackowledges the home fans after the UEFA Champions League group D match between Tottenham Hotspur and Eintracht Frankfurt at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on October 12, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images)
17:53LEWIS PANGRATIOU
The stage is set!
Attendees are starting to arrive in Paris.


17:40LEWIS PANGRATIOU
Mahrez in 12th
Manchester City's Riyad Mahrez has finished 12th.


(Image: 2022 Manchester City FC)
17:33LEWIS PANGRATIOU
Fabinho in 14th place
Liverpool midfielder Fabinho and AC Milan star Rafael Leao have equally been placed in 14th.


Fabinho of Liverpool during a training session at AXA Training Centre(Image: Photo by John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
17:25LEWIS PANGRATIOU
The trophy has arrived...
The Ballon d'Or trophy has arrived ahead of the beginning of the ceremony.


17:15LEWIS PANGRATIOU
Mead in with a chance
Beth Mead, who enjoyed a fantastic season with both Arsenal and England, has a great chance of winning the Ballon d'Or Feminin 2022. She has been nominated alongside two other Lionesses in Lucy Bronze and Millie Bright whilst her Gunners teammate Vivianne Miedema and Chelsea's Sam Kerr are also on the 20-player shortlist.

They will all be hoping to pip Alexia Putellas to the award, though, as the Barcelona Femeni star is a strong favourite to be crowned best in the world.

LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 24: Beth Mead of Arsenal celebrates after scoring their team's first goal during the FA Women's Super League match between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur at Emirates Stadium on September 24, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)
17:11LEWIS PANGRATIOU
Results so far...
The results so far are as follows: 25th - Darwin Nunez, Christopher Nkunku, Joao Cancelo, Antonio Rudiger, Mike Maignan, Joshua Kimmich

22nd - Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden, Trent Alexander-Arnold

21st - Harry Kane

20th - Cristiano Ronaldo

17th - Luis Diaz, Dusan Vlahovic, Casemiro

16th - Virgil van Dijk

Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk(Image: Photo by Naomi Baker - The FA/The FA via Getty Images)
17:03LEWIS PANGRATIOU
Van Dijk finishes 16th
Liverpool centre-back Virgil van Dijk has finished in 16th place this year. The defender helped the Reds to the Champions League final and lifted both English domestic cup competitions.

Virgil van Dijk of Liverpool celebrating the Carabao Cup Final win over Chelsea(Image: Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
16:59LEWIS PANGRATIOU
Winner 'leaked'
Spanish outlet Marca claim Karim Benzema will beat off close competition from Sadio Mane, Kylian Mbappe and Robert Lewandowski.

Benzema played a huge role in Real Madrid's incredible Champions League triumph last season, scoring 15 goals in just 12 games including hat-tricks against both Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea.

Karim Benzema lifts the Champions League trophy eclipsing Theirry Henry's biggest failure.(Image: Photo by VI Images via Getty Images)
16:57LEWIS PANGRATIOU
Ronaldo finishes 20th
Manchester United superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has finished 20th. The striker has previously won the award six times.


16:51LEWIS PANGRATIOU
Kane finishes 21st
Harry Kane has finished 21st in this year's Ballon d'Or polls.


16:50LEWIS PANGRATIOU
Saka trophy chance
Arsenal's Bukayo Saka has made the 10-man shortlist for the Kopa trophy, awarded to the best under-21s player in the world.

Last year's winner Pedri has a strong chance of retaining the trophy though, whilst Saka's England compatriot Jude Bellingham is also in with a shout.

Bukayo Saka of Arsenal warms up prior to the Premier League match between Leeds United and Arsenal FC at Elland Road(Image: Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
16:36LEWIS PANGRATIOU
Benzema favourite
Real Madrid star Karim Benzema is this year's strong favourite to win the Men's Ballon d'Or.

The Frenchman captained his side to success in both La Liga and the UEFA Champions League and played an integral role whilst doing so.

Karim Benzema of Real Madrid
LEWIS PANGRATIOU
Good evening!
Hello and welcome along to today's live Ballon d'Or ceremony blog!

We'll be keeping you up to date with everything that's happening in Paris as the world's biggest stars find out who will be honoured as the world's best player.

Make sure to stay tuned throught the evening!

This is the first time since 2007 (except 2020 it was not awarded) that either of Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi will be missing amongst the top 3 nominations for the Ballon d'Or.

Whilst Ronaldo is ranked 20th, Messi is missing in the top 30-man list for the first time.

The Ballon d'Or award commenced in 1956 and has been awarded every year except in 2020 due to the COVID-19 virus.

It was formerly open to only Europeans until 1995 and the first and only African to have so won same is George Opong Weah.

Messi has won the most with 7 and closely followed by Ronaldo with 5, then Michel Platini, Johan Cruyff and Marco Van Basten with three apiece.

Karim Mostafa Benzema (originally of Algerian parentage), will become the 5th French International to win the Award after Raymond Kopa (1958), Michel Platini (1983, 1984, 1985), Jean Pierre Papin (1991) and Zinedine Zidane (1998).

fergie001:
Barcelona Femeni are ready for the event!
Arsenal women are ready for the event!
OL women