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French news magazine France Football have announced the 30-man shortlist for the 2022 Ballon d'Or with current holder Paris Saint-Germain superstar Lionel Messi having not made the list.
The Argentine is the record holder with seven awards to his name but is a shocking omission this year.
He had a somewhat indifferent debut season at the Parc des Princes, managing 11 goals and 15 assists in 34 appearances.
Frontrunner Karim Benzema has been selected following one of the best seasons of his career, managing an astounding 44 goals in 46 appearances.
He also led Real Madrid to their 35th La Liga crown and a record-extending 14th Champions League title.
Benzema will also going up against Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane once again with the former Liverpool deadly duo having made the shortlist.
The two Anfield legends are believed to be Benzema's closest challengers for the award having had eye-catching campaigns in their own right.
Salah bagged 31 goals in 51 games whilst providing 16 assists whilst Mane managed 23 goals and five assists in 51 appearances.
The UEFA Champions League campaign is perhaps what wholly swings the Ballon d'Or in Benzema's favor.
The Frenchman finished the tournament's top scorer with 15 goals in 12 matches whilst leading Real Madrid to the trophy by beating Liverpool 1-0 in the final.
Benzema's Madrid teammate and the scorer of the winning goal in the Champions League final victory over Liverpool, Vinicius Jr is also up for the award.
The Brazilian wonderkid is the youngest nominee at 22 years of age and recorded 22 goals and 20 assists in 52 appearances.
Barcelona's new signing Robert Lewandowski also makes the shortlist having missed out on the award in bittersweet circumstances to Messi over the past two years.
Many are of the belief the Polish striker should have won the award by now and he had yet another prolific season for Bayern Munich last time out.
Lewandowski managed a remarkable 50 goals in 46 appearances winning the Bundesliga title with the Bavarians.
PSG star Kylian Mbappe is also nominated for an impressive campaign that saw him finish Ligue 1 top scorer with 28 goals.
But it's his Parisian teammate Lionel Messi's omission that has shocked the footballing world.
Outside nominees for the 2022 Ballon d'Or
It is widely expected that one of the prior mentioned names will pick up the award on October 17.
Nevertheless, there is still an outside chance for other nominees who have made the 30-man shortlist.
Other 2022 Ballon d'Or nominees:
Premier League:
Trent Alexander-Arnold, Luis Diaz, Fabinho, Darwin Nunez, Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool), Heung-Min Son, Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur)
Kevin de Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden, Riyad Mahrez, Joao Cancelo, Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City), Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
La Liga:
Thibaut Courtois, Casemiro, Luka Modric, Antonio Rudiger (Real Madrid)
Serie A:
Rafael Leao, Mike Maignan (AC Milan) Dusan Vlahovic (Juventus)
Bundesliga:
Christopher Nkunku (RB Leipzig), Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich), Sebastian Haller (Borussia Dortmund)
