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We're in the second half of the year and the Ballon d'Or race is shaping up nicely. The award is presented by French news magazine France Football to the best performing footballer in a calendar year. The Ballon d'Or is the most prestigious individual prize in professional football.
The Ballon d'Or winner is chosen on the basis of a combination of votes from media representatives, national team captains and coaches. 2022 has been a year that's been packed with footballing action. We've seen several wonderful performances from top footballers over the course of the year.
The race for the Ballon d'Or will intensify further once the 2021-22 season gets underway next month. But for now, let's take a look at the Ballon d'Or Power Rankings for the month of July.
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#10 Lionel Messi (Argentina/Paris Saint-Germain)
Lionel Messi's first domestic season away from Barcelona turned out to be far from ideal. The record seven-time Ballon d'Or winner struggled to hit the ground running at his new club Paris Saint-Germain. He still put up respectable numbers, albeit they were not up to his usual standards.
Messi scored 11 goals and provided 15 assists in 34 appearances across all competitions for PSG in the 2021-22 season. There has been concerns over whether or not the 35-year-old can perform like he used to but he has done his best to allay such fears over the past couple of months.
Messi turned in a man-of-the-match performance against Italy in the CONMEBOL-UEFA Cup of Champions, also known as the Finalissima. He also scored as many as five goals for Argentina in a friendly against Estonia.
He looked sharp for PSG on their pre-season tour of Japan, scoring two goals in three appearances.
#9 Luka Modric (Croatia/Real Madrid)
Real Madrid midfield maestro Luka Modric's contributions were key to them winning the La Liga and Champions League titles in the 2021-22 season. Despite being 36, the Croatia international continues to be world-class and his industry and creativity make him one of the best in the world.
He produced multiple clutch performances for Carlo Ancelotti's side in La Liga and in the knockout stages of the Champions Leaguelast term. He scored three goals and provided 12 assists in 45 appearances across all competitions for Real Madrid in the 2021-22 season.
#8 Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium/Manchester City)
Kevin De Bruyne is still Manchester City's most important player and is arguably the best attacking midfielder in the game right now. The Belgium international was in exceptional form for the Cityzens, particularly in the second half of the 2021-22 season.
He scored 19 goals and provided 14 assists for Manchester City in 45 appearances across all competitions last term. He was scoring goals and creating them with a great deal of ease and grace.
The Belgium international won the 'Premier League Player of the Season' award last season. He has been in good form in Manchester City's pre-season, bagging a brace against Club America in a friendly and also starring in their 1-0 win over Bayern Munich.
De Bruyne could yet boost his chances of winning the Ballon d'Or this year if he gets off to a strong start in the upcoming campaign.
#7 Son Heung-Min (South Korea/Tottenham Hotspur)
Son Heung-Min continues to be one of the most underrated forwards of his generation. He was Tottenham Hotspur's main man in the 2021-22 season as Harry Kane struggled for form in the first half of the campaign.
Son scored 24 goals and provided 10 assists in 45 appearances across all competitions for Spurs in the 2021-22 season. He shared the Premier League Golden Boot with Mohamed Salah and none of his 23 goals in the English top flight last term came from the spot.
He is now the first Asian player to finish as the top scorer in any of Europe's top five leagues.
#6 Mohamed Salah (Egypt/Liverpool)
Mohamed Salah was arguably the most in-form player in Europe in the first half of the 2021-22 season. But his form tailed off in the second half of the campaign and that's why he is not higher up in this Ballon d'Or Power Rankings.
Salah made crucial contributions as Liverpool won the FA Cup and the League Cup and gave Manchester City a run for their money in the Premier League title race. He was also one of their standout performers as they made it to the UEFA Champions League final, which they eventually lost to Real Madrid.
Salah scored a total of 31 goals and provided 16 assists in 51 appearances across all competitions for Jurgen Klopp's side last season. He also shared the Premier League Golden Boot with Son Heung-min and guided Egypt to the 2021 AFCON final.
#5 Vinicius Jr. (Brazil/Real Madrid)
Vinicius Jr. truly came into his own in the 2021-22 season. We'd only seen flashes of his genius prior to last term but we saw him tap into his artistry on a consistent basis and the results were thoroughly impressive.
Vinicius turned on the style down the left wing for Real Madrid, striking up an extremely productive partnership with Karim Benzema. He beat defenders for fun and improved his finishing and overall game inside the final third massively.
He finished the 2021-22 season with 22 goals and 20 assists in 52 appearances across all competitions for Real Madrid. Vinicius scored the winning goal for Real Madrid in the Champions League final and was in stellar form in La Liga as well.
Having picked up the La Liga and Champions League titles, it wouldn't surprise anyone if the Brazilian winger made it to the Ballon d'Or podium this year.
#4 Kylian Mbappe (France/Paris Saint-Germain)
If not for Paris Saint-Germain's comparatively lean trophy haul, Kylian Mbappe would be the favorite to win the Ballon d'Or this year. His numbers from the 2021-22 season are incredible and strictly at an individual level, he is arguably the best forward in the game right now.
Mbappe scored 39 goals and provided 26 assists in 45 appearances across all competitions for Paris Saint-Germain last term. He finished the 2021-22 Ligue 1 season as the top scorer and top assist provider.
But Mbappe was only able to add the Ligue 1 title to his trophy collection last term and that will drastically affect his chances of winning the Ballon d'Or.
#3 Robert Lewandowski (Poland/Barcelona)
New Barcelona signing Robert Lewandowski has been the most prolific goalscorer in Europe for a couple of years now. He picked up his second European Golden Shoe last term, scoring 35 goals in the Bundesliga.
His overall tally of 50 goals and seven assists in 46 appearances across all competitions for the Bavarians is mighty impressive. The 33-year-old also guided Poland to World Cup qualification, scoring a crucial goal in their playoff match against Sweden.
However, just like Mbappe, Lewandowski's chances of winning the Ballon d'Or are limited owing to the fact that he was only able to win the Bundesliga title last term.
#2 Sadio Mane (Senegal/Bayern Munich)
Sadio Mane started the 2021-22 season on an underwhelming note. But he turned it around in the second half of the campaign and was in blistering form for both club and country. Mane was named the 'Player of the Tournament' as Senegal won the 2021 AFCON.
At Liverpool, he transitioned into a centre-forward rather effortlessly and became a major goalscoring outlet for them in the second half of the season. He ended up scoring 23 goals and providing five assists in 51 appearances across all competitions for Liverpool last term.
Mane played a crucial role in Liverpool's FA Cup and League Cup triumphs as well. He also helped Senegal secure World Cup qualification and was recently crowned the CAF Player of the Year.
Thanks to all these major achievements and his individual brilliance, Mane is one of the top contenders to win the Ballon d'Or this time around. The 30-year-old joined Bayern Munich from Liverpool this summer.
#1 Karim Benzema (France/Real Madrid)
Karim Benzema is the odds-on favorite to win the Ballon d'Or this year after firing Real Madrid to the La Liga and Champions League title with his exploits. The Frenchman was in sublime form and had arguably the best season of his career at an individual level last term.
Benzema was simply unstoppable in the knockout stages of the Champions League for Carlo Ancelotti's side. He scored hat-tricks against PSG and Chelsea in the Round of 16 and quarter-finals respectively before bagging a brace against Manchester City in the semi-finals.
He also scored the winning goals against all three sides. Benzema scored 44 goals and provided 15 assists in 46 appearances across all competitions for Real Madrid last season. He was also the top scorer in La Liga last term.
