Messi Misses Out On 2022 Ballon d’Or As Cristiano Ronaldo, Salah, Benzema, Mane, Others Get Nominated
Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) forward, Lionel Messi has missed out on the 30-man shortlist for the 2022 Men’s Ballon d’Or, having won the award just last year.
Messi won the Ballon d’Or for a record seventh time last year after he helped guide Argentina to a Copa America triumph.
Kylian Mbappe is the only player from the star-studded PSG team to have made the cut, with Neymar and Gianluigi Donnarumma also missing out on nominations for the prestigious award.
Six players from each of Real Madrid, Manchester City and Liverpool have been nominated, while former Reds star Sadio Mané has also been included on the shortlist, but as a Bayern Munich player.
Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema is expected to win the award this year, as he scored 15 goals for the club on the way to winning last season’s Champions League.
Benzema has never won the award before, but at the age of 34 the striker is in the form of his life. If successful, Benzema would be the first Frenchman to win the award since Zinedine Zidane in 1998.
Kevin de Bruyne, Mbappe, Erling Haaland and Robert Lewandowski are among the other frontrunners to win the award.