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The Ballon d'Or is the most prestigious individual award in football. It's any footballer's dream to be recognized as the best in the world. Only a few of the greatest players to have graced the game have had the privilege of wrapping their hands around the Ballon d'Or trophy.
The Ballon d'Or is awarded by French news magazine France Football. The winner is chosen by a combination of votes from media representatives, national team captains and coaches.
Lionel Messi won the 2021 Ballon d'Or
Lionel Messi picked up a record seventh Ballon d'Or in 2021. We witnessed an exciting and almost entirely unpredictable race last time around. This year is going to be no different with there being a number of early favorites tipped to go on to win the award.
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Without further ado, let's take a look at five superstars who are unlikely to win the Ballon d'Or this year.
#5 Erling Haaland (Norway/Borussia Dortmund)
Erling Haaland is currently the most sought-after striker in the world. He is just 21 years old but has already established himself as one of the finest marksmen in the game. The Norwegian international is a prolific striker who just can't seem to stop scoring goals.
Due to multiple injuries and fitness issues, Haaland's involvement in the 2021-22 season so far has been limited to just 20 appearances across all competitions. He has scored 23 goals and provided six assists. While those numbers are incredible, Haaland is unlikely to feature in the Ballon d'Or race this time around.
Unfortunately for the Norwegian international, trophies hold a lot of weight when it comes to winning the Ballon d'Or. Norway failed to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Borussia Dortmund have already been eliminated from the Champions League and DFB Pokal. They were also eliminated from the Europa League by Rangers.
They are also presently nine points behind Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga table and are unlikely to become the German champions at the end of the season.
#4 Jorginho (Italy/Chelsea)
2021 was a great year for Jorginho. The Chelsea midfield lynchpin played a pivotal role in the Blues' Champions League triumph. He tapped into that rich vein of form to replicate his heroics at Euro 2020 for Italy. Jorginho was instrumental in Italy's success in the continental competition as well.
He finished as high as third in the race for the Ballon d'Or last term. However, Jorginho's influence has waned in the 2021-22 season and Chelsea haven't been as dominant as we had initially expected them to be.
As he is the first-choice penalty taker for the Blues, Jorginho has got nine goals under his belt in 35 appearances. Despite winning two major trophies and performing well last year, he could only finish third. He is unlikely to feature in the race for the Ballon d'Or this term given how lackluster his season has been so far.
#3 Neymar Jr. (Brazil/Paris Saint-Germain)
Neymar finished 16th in the race for the Ballon d'Or last year. He had a few injury problems that impeded him from featuring extensively in the 2020-21 season. Neymar was also part of the Brazilian side that fell to Lionel Messi's Argentina in the 2021 Copa America final.
The 30-year-old has already lost close to four months of action in the ongoing campaign. Although he is capable of producing moments of magic, he has not been able to reach the levels expected of him so far this term. PSG have now been kicked out of the Champions League in the Round of 16.
Neymar's numbers so far this season for PSG are far from impressive. He has scored just four goals and has provided five assists in 19 appearances across all competition. The Brazilian international is unlikely to feature in the race for the Ballon d'Or race unless he can turn his season around drastically.
#2 Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal/Manchester United)
Cristiano Ronaldo is the player with the second highest number of Ballon d'Or wins in history. He has picked up five Ballon d'Ors but unfortunately for him, it doesn't look like he'll be able to add more to his collection.
Ronaldo produced some incredible rescue acts for Manchester United in the first half of the 2021-22 season. However, his form has deteriorated acutely in the second half of the season. Manchester United are unlikely to win any silverware this term.
They were knocked out in the early stages of both the League Cup and the FA Cup. They are struggling to stay in the race for a top four berth in the Premier League right now.
On top of that, Portugal will need to win the playoffs to book their spot in the 2022 World Cup as well. All in all, this year is not going according to plan as far as Ronaldo is concerned.
Having scored just 15 goals and provided three assists in 31 appearances across all competitions, he is not going to get an entry due to individual brilliance either.
#1 Lionel Messi (Argentina/Paris Saint-Germain)
Lionel Messi's magic simply isn't working like it used to. He has received a lot of flak for being a mere passenger in games this season. That criticism rang true as PSG were knocked out of the Champions League by Real Madrid on Wednesday night (9 March 2022).
Messi is likely to win the Ligue 1 title with PSG. But it is widely acknowledged that it's Kylian Mbappe's heroics that has propelled the Parisians to the top of the table.
The 34-year-old has scored just seven goals and provided 11 assists in 25 appearances across all competitions for PSG so far this season. He has turned in multiple lackluster performances this term and although his numbers are good, Messi looks like a shadow of his former self.
