The nominees for the 2022 Ballon d'Or awards have been announced by France Football.
Lionel Messi is the current holder of the men's award and the record seven-time winner has NOT been nominated this year.
Five-time winner Cristiano Ronaldo, though, is included as well as his former Real Madrid teammate Karim Benzema, who is the overwhelming favourite to win the men's award this year for the first time.
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Benzema scored 44 goals in 46 games for Madrid last season to help the Spanish side win both the Champions League and La Liga last season under Carlo Ancelotti.
PSG star Kylian Mbappe is the bookies' second favourite to win the men's award, with Liverpool's Mohamed Salah and Bayern Munich's Sadio Mane also thought to be in contention.
Barcelona captain Alexia Putellas is the current holder of the women's award. She is among the favourites to win it for a second successive year.
Chelsea forward Sam Kerr and Arsenal striker Vivienne Miedema are also up for the award, as are a number of England's victorious Euro 2022 squad, including Lucy Bronze, Beth Mead and Millie Bright.
Both the winners of the men's and women's awards will be revealed at a ceremony on October 17.
Check out the full list of nominees below:
Men's Ballon d'Or award nominees: Thibaut Courtois, Rafael Leao, Christopher Nkunku, Mohamed Salah, Joshua Kimmich, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Vinicius Junior, Bernardo Silva, Luis Diaz, Robert Lewandowski, Riyad Mahrez, Casemiro, Son Heung-min, Fabinho, Karim Benzema, Mike Maignan, Harry Kane, Darwin Nunez, Phil Foden, Sadio Mane, Sébastien Haller, Luka Modric, Antonio Rudiger, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kevin De Bruyne, Dusan Vlahovic, Virgil van Dijk, João Cancelo, Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland
Women's Ballon d'Or award nominees: Selma Bacha, Fridolina Rolfo, Vivianne Miedema, Lucy Bronze, Sam Kerr, Christiane Endler, Lena Oberdorf, Kadidiatou Diani, Catarina Macario, Alexia Putellas, Alexandra Popp, Aitana Bonmati, Wendie Renard, Alex Morgan, Beth Mead, Asisat Oshoala, Marie-Antoinette Katoto, Millie Bright, Trinity Rodman, Ada Hegerberg
Kopa Trophy nominees: Karim Adeyemi (Borussia Dortmund), Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund), Eduardo Camavinga (Real Madrid), Gavi (Barcelona), Ryan Gravenberch (Bayern Munich), Nuno Mendes (PSG), Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich), Josko Gvardiol (RB Leipzig), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Florian Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen)
Yashin Trophy nominees: Yassine Bounou (Sevilla), Alisson Becker (Liverpool), Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid), Ederson (Manchester City), Mike Maignan (AC Milan), Edouard Mendy (Chelsea), Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid), Kevin Trapp (Eintracht Frankfurt), Hugo Lloris (Tottenham)
Featured Image Credit: Alamy
Topics: Ballon d'Or, Football, Karim Benzema, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo
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