With the 2021/22 season officially over, here are six players who can be considered the frontrunners for this year's Ballon d'Or award.
Click through the gallery above to see six frontrunners for the 2022 Ballon d'Or award!
With the latest campaign having finally wrapped up, there is now a clearer picture as to who the favourites for the 2022 Golden Ball will be.
Robert Lewandowski secured this season's European Golden Shoe after finding the back of the net 35 times for Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga. Poland's national team captain has now won that accolade for a second successive season, further validating any potential case he may have for the Ballon d'Or.
However, the Bavarian giants managed to win only the league and the DFL Supercup. Despite the award being premised more on individual performances from here on out, Lewandowski's inability to drag his team to DFB-Pokal success and a deep UEFA Champions League run could hurt his chances.
A player heavily linked with a move to Munich is Sadio Mane. The Senegal forward came within Thibaut Courtois' fingertips of opening the scoring in Saturday night's Champions League final, but was ultimately unable to find the back of the net as Real Madrid won 1-0 in Paris.
The loss may have damaged Africa's chances of having a first Golden Ball winner since Liberian George Weah in 1995. Mane, however, did finish this season with his second-highest goalscoring tally as a Liverpool player, with 23 strikes in all competitions, while he was also named the Player of the Tournament at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, which the Lions of Teranga won.
The man seemingly tipped by most to win the award, though, is Real forward Karim Benzema.
The Frenchman's consistency throughout the season, coupled with his top-level performances when his team needed him most as well as the trophies he's collected are all reasons as to why he could become only the fifth French player to win the famous prize.
Benzema scored 44 goals and provided 15 assists in all competitions for Los Blancos in 2021/22, got his hands on the Champions League, LaLiga, and Supercopa de Espana trophies, and also helped France to a maiden UEFA Nations League title.
Here are some transfers that have already been confirmed for the 2022/23 season:
