The 2022 Ballon d'Or ceremony marked a monumental shift in football's most prestigious individual accolade. Hosted at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris on October 17, 2022, the event crowned Karim Benzema as the undisputed best men's player in the world. Beyond just the headline winner, this specific edition introduced major structural rule changes that fundamentally altered how players are judged, moving away from calendar-year performances to a standard European football season format.
If you're trying to make sense of how the voting shook out, why the criteria shifted, and who else made the top 30 list, understanding the details behind the 2022 gala provides essential context for modern football history.
The 2022 Winner: Karim Benzema's Historic Run
Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema captured his first career Ballon d'Or following a phenomenal 2021-22 campaign. At 34 years old, he became the oldest first-time winner of the award since Stanley Matthews won the inaugural trophy in 1956.
Benzema's victory wasn't just earned; it was by a landslide margin. He secured 549 points, finishing 356 points ahead of runner-up Sadio Mané—representing the largest voting gap in the modern history of the award. His individual brilliance drove Real Madrid to secure both the La Liga title and a dramatic UEFA Champions League trophy. Similar reporting regarding this has been provided by BBC.
Throughout the Champions League knockout stages, Benzema scored critical hat-tricks and late goals against Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea, and Manchester City, finishing the tournament as the top scorer with 15 goals. His combination of elite playmaking, leadership, and ruthless finishing made him the unanimous choice for journalists across the globe.
Major Changes to the Voting Rules in 2022
Before looking at the rest of the rankings, it's vital to understand why the 2022 results felt different from previous years. France Football implemented three massive structural reforms to modernize the award:
- The Season-Based Schedule: Instead of evaluating players based on a calendar year (January to December), voting strictly covered a standard European football season (August to July). This meant the 2022 award judged players entirely on their 2021-22 club and international outputs, intentionally excluding the November-December 2022 FIFA World Cup (which instead factored into the 2023 voting).
- Streamlined Jury Pools: To reduce bias, the voting pool for the men's award was restricted to representatives from the top 100 countries in the FIFA men's rankings, while the women's award narrowed to the top 50 countries.
- Refined Criteria Hierarchy: Individual performance and decisive character became the primary criteria, overriding overall career accumulation. Fair play and collective trophies became secondary considerations.
The Complete Podium and Top 10 Rankings
While Benzema took home the ultimate prize, the rest of the podium and top ten featured the continent's most elite performers from the 2021-22 season:
- Karim Benzema (Real Madrid / France)
- Sadio Mané (Liverpool / Bayern Munich / Senegal)
- Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City / Belgium)
- Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich / Barcelona / Poland)
- Mohamed Salah (Liverpool / Egypt)
- Kylian Mbappé (Paris Saint-Germain / France)
- Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid / Belgium)
- Vinícius Júnior (Real Madrid / Brazil)
- Luka Modrić (Real Madrid / Croatia)
- Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund / Manchester City / Norway)
Sadio Mané earned the runner-up spot largely due to an incredible treble of achievements: winning the Africa Cup of Nations with Senegal, lifting both the EFL Cup and FA Cup with Liverpool, and reaching the Champions League final. Kevin De Bruyne rounded out the top three after pulling the strings for Manchester City's Premier League title defense.
Other Major Awards Handed Out in Paris
The 2022 ceremony wasn't just about the men's main prize. Several other categories recognized excellence across the global game:
- Ballon d'Or Féminin: Barcelona and Spain midfielder Alexia Putellas won the award for the second consecutive year, despite missing the summer UEFA Women's Euro due to an ACL injury, cementing her status as the heartbeat of modern women's football.
- Kopa Trophy: Barcelona's teenage prodigy Gavi took home the award for the best U-21 player in the world, beating out fellow stellar youngsters like Eduardo Camavinga and Jamal Musiala.
- Yashin Trophy: Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois won the prize for best goalkeeper, following a masterclass performance in the Champions League final against Liverpool.
- Sócrates Award: Sadio Mané received this newly introduced award recognizing humanitarian work, acknowledging his extensive charity funding for infrastructure, schools, and hospitals in his hometown of Bambali, Senegal.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why wasn't Lionel Messi nominated for the 2022 Ballon d'Or?
In a shocking break from tradition, Lionel Messi failed to make the 30-man shortlist for the first time since 2005. This exclusion was a direct result of his challenging transition season at Paris Saint-Germain following his departure from Barcelona, where his goal output dipped significantly during the 2021-22 domestic term.
How are Ballon d'Or votes cast and counted?
Eligible sports journalists from the top-ranked FIFA member nations evaluate the official 30-player shortlist. Each journalist selects their top ten players, assigning descending point values ranging from 15 points for a first-place vote down to 1 point for tenth place. The player who accumulates the highest total score wins.
Did the 2022 World Cup count toward the 2022 Ballon d'Or voting?
No. Because the 2022 voting criteria transitioned to a European season calendar, the World Cup played in Qatar in November and December 2022 was excluded from this cycle. Instead, those tournament performances heavily influenced the following year's 2023 Ballon d'Or voting pool.
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