Surprise on the list of players nominated for the 2022 Ballon d'Or. In total, 20 players, including four French, have been nominated to succeed Alexia Putellas as the best player of the season.

On the men's side, 30 players have been named but the Argentinian Lionel Messi, seven-time winner and crowned last year, is not on the list.

His Brazilian PSG teammate Neymar is also absent.

The Ballon d'Or 2022, awarded by France football magazine, will be awarded on October 17.

Frenchman Karim Benzema (Real Madrid) appears to be the big favorite.

The non-nomination of Messi is in itself an event: the Argentinian has been present among the contenders for the Ballon d'Or since 2006 and on the podium almost continuously since 2007, except in 2018.

But the man nicknamed "La Pulga" (35) is coming out of a very complicated first season with PSG: he only scored 11 goals in all competitions, failing in the knockout stages of the Champions League against Real Madrid.

Just like Neymar.

The five-time Portuguese winner Cristiano Ronaldo, whose return to Manchester United last summer was also not a success, is however named.

His ex-Real Madrid team-mate Karim Benzema, who is a huge favorite to succeed Messi on the list, is also well and truly present.

The Frenchman was the main architect of Real's 14th coronation in C1, finishing as the competition's top scorer (15).

In 2021/2022, Benzema scored 44 goals in 46 appearances for the Madrid club, also winning the Spanish Championship.

By doubling the bet against Frankfurt (2-0) on Wednesday in the European Supercup, the 34-year-old ex-Lyonnais also became the second best artificer in the history of Real with 324 achievements, ahead of Madrid legend Raul.

To his club exploits, Benzema also added the Nations League last season, his first trophy with the France team. 

The Blues have a total of four candidates in the list for the Ballon d'Or (Karim Benzema, Kylian Mbappé, Mike Maignan, Christopher Nkunku) and two for the Yachine award for best goalkeeper (Hugo Lloris, Mike Maignan).

Four French women in the running

20 nominees are also in the running for the Women's Ballon d'Or.

We find the defending champion Alexia Putellas and the Norwegian from Lyon Ada Hegerberg, first winner in 2018. Four French women are also present: Selma Bacha, Kadidiatou Diani, Marie-Antoinette Katoto and Wendie Renard.

The Ballon d'Or is changing format this year since it will now relate to performances achieved during the sports season and not the calendar year.

The 20 named

Selma BACHA (FRA, Lyon)

Aitana BONMATI (ESP, FC Barcelona)

Millie BRIGHT (ENG, Chelsea)

Lucy BRONZE (ENG, Manchester City then FC Barcelona)

Kadidiatou DIANI (FRA, PSG)

Christiane ENDLER (CHL, Lyon)

Ada HEGERBERG (NOR, Lyon)

Marie-Antoinette KATOTO (FRA, PSG)

Sam KERR (AUS, Chelsea)

Catarina MACARIO (USA, Lyon)

Beth MEAD (ENG, Arsenal)

Vivianne MIEDEMA (HOL, Arsenal)

Alex MORGAN (USA, Pride from Orlando then Wave from San Diego)

Lena OBERDORF (GER, VfL Wolfsburg)

Asisat OSHOALA (NGA, FC Barcelona)

Alexandra POPP (GER, VfL Wolfsburg)

Alexia PUTELLAS (ESP, FC Barcelona)

Wendie RENARD (FRA, Lyon)

Trinity RODMAN (USA, Washington Spirit)

Fridolina ROLFÖ (SWE, FC Barcelona)

The 30 named

Trent ALEXANDER-ARNOLD (ENG, Liverpool)

Karim BENZEMA (FRA, Real Madrid)

Joao CANCELO (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 (ENG, Manchester City)

Erling HAALAND (NOR, Borussia Dortmund then Manchester City)

Sébastien HALLER (CIV, Ajax then Borussia Dortmund)

Harry KANE (ENG, Tottenham)

Joshua KIMMICH (GER, Bayern Munich)

Rafael LEAO (POR, AC Milan)

Robert LEWANDOWSKI (POL, Bayern Munich then FC Barcelona)

Riyad MAHREZ (ALG, Manchester City)

Mike MAIGNAN (FRA, AC Milan)

Sadio MANÉ (SEN, Liverpool then Bayern Munich)

Kylian MBAPPE (FRA, Paris-SG)

Luka MODRIC (CRO, Real Madrid)

Christopher NKUNKU (FRA, RB Leipzig)

Darwin NUÑEZ (URU, Benfica then Liverpool)

Antonio RÜDIGER (GER, Chelsea then Real Madrid)

Mohamed SALAH (EGY, Liverpool)

Bernardo SILVA (POR, Manchester City)

SON Heung-min (CDS, Tottenham)

Virgil VAN DIJK (HOL, Liverpool)

VINICIUS JUNIOR (BRE, Real Madrid)

Dusan VLAHOVIC (SER, Fiorentina then Juventus)

With AFP

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