Candidate list Ballon d’Or 2022: there is no Messi, no Italian

No Italians vying for the Golden Ball, nor for all the other prizes awarded by France Football. And among the thirty candidates there is not even Lionel Messi, the man capable of winning seven times – none like him – the most coveted individual recognition in the world of football, which will be awarded on 17 October. Since 2006 Messi has always been on the list of finals: after 17 years he disappears for the first time.

Instead, there is the long-time rival Cristiano Ronaldo and obviously the great favorite Karim Benzema. Representing Serie A will be only Vlahovic and two of the protagonists of the Scudetto won by Milan, Leao and Maignan. The other finalists are: Courtois, Vinicius Junior, Modric and Casemiro (Real Madrid), Rudiger (Chelsea / Real Madrid), Nkunku (Leipzig), Van Dijk, Salah, Luis Diaz, Fabinho and Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Nuñez ( Benfica / Liverpool), Mané (Liverpool / Bayern Munich) Kimmich (Bayern Munich), Mahrez, Cancelo, Foden, De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva (Manchester City), Lewandowski (Bayern Munich / Barcelona), Son and Kane (Tottenham), Haller (Ajax / Borussia Dortmund), Haaland (Borussia Dortmund / Manchester City), Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United), Mbappé (Paris Saint-Germain).

BEST GOALKEEPER

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Maignan is also on the list of the ten finalist goalkeepers of the Yashin award, but the competition is top-notch. There are in fact Alisson (Liverpool), Bono (Sevilla), Courtois (Real Madrid), Ederson (Manchester City), Lloris (Tottenham), Mendy (Chelsea), Neuer (Bayern Munich), Oblak (Atletico Madrid) and Trapp (Eintracht Frankfurt).

BEST YOUNG

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Neither Italians nor Serie A players are present in the shortlist of ten candidates for the Kopa trophy, which elects the best young player of the season. Contending for the prize are Adeyemi (Salzburg / Borussia Dortmund), Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund), Camavinga (Real Madrid), Gavi (Barcelona), Gravenberch (Ajax / Bayern Munich), Nuno Mendes (Paris Saint-Germain), Musiala ( Bayern Munich), Gvardiol (Leipzig), Saka (Arsenal) and Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen).

FEMALE GOLDEN BALL

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Strong presence of Lyon and Barcelona, ​​the two finalists of the last edition of the women’s Champions League, among the twenty candidates for the Ballon d’Or: Bacha, Hegerberg, Endler, Macario and Renard (Lyon), Rolfo, Bronze, Putellas, Bonmatì and Oshoala (Barcelona), Miedema and Mead (Arsenal), Kerr and Bright (Chelsea), Oberdorf and Popp (Wolfsburg), Diani and Katoto (Paris Saint-Germain), Morgan (San Diego Wave), Rodman (Washington Spirit).