2022 Ballon d'Or power rankings: Messi outside top 3

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2022 Ballon d'Or power rankings: Messi outside top 3

Ballon d'Or is usually given for a player's achievements throughout a single year.

However, experience shows that voters often pay attention to a player's success throughout the previous season too.

This is why we could already come up with some predictions based on the players' impact this season.

Here is our top 10 as things stand.

1. Mohamed Salah

The Egyptian king has produced his second-best start to a season, scoring an impressive 23 goals and providing 9 assists in just 26 matches for Liverpool.

Salah's national side are on their way to reaching the AFCON knockouts – and he has scored there too already! Winning the competition would be a massive boost to his Ballon d'Or chances.

Given Liverpool's chances to claim the Champions League this season, Mo Salah is our best-positioned candidate to win the prize this year.

2. Karim Benzema

Benzema's goalscoring numbers are quite similar to Salah's: 24 goals, 9 assists.

What's more, the Frenchman has already collected the Spanish Supercopa with Real Madrid and could well claim the league title too.

The Whites look almost quite solid in the Champions League while France have a great chance of winning the 2022 World Cup.

While Benzema is definitely a proper contender for the prize, one shouldn't forget that his reputation could also play a huge role in the vote. The Valbuena case isn't forgotten by anyone.

3. Robert Lewandowski

Lewandowski's class is never in doubt.

The Polish striker is eager to get revenge for missing out on the Ballon d'Or in 2021 – and he's doing everything possible to finally win it this time.

The 33-year-old has netted 34 goals and got 3 assists this term. At the same time, Bayern have suffered a blow to their treble chances, missing out on the DFB-Pokal, while their Bundesliga glory is far from being guaranteed too.

Besides, Lewandowski's World Cup participation is not confirmed yet.

4. Kylian Mbappe

With 19 goals and 15 assists, Mbappe is among the players with the most goal contributions this term.

Just like Benzema, Mbappe could play a key role in France's World Cup success.

Paris Saint-Germain's Ligue 1 glory is quite real too – but is Mauricio Pochettino's side good enough to compete in the Champions League? A big question mark here.

5. Lionel Messi

Even if Messi doesn't deliver much for the Parisians, his name will be high on the list in the final Ballon d'Or vote largely thanks to his global reputation.

The Argentine reportedly considers the upcoming World Cup his priority – and he's going to be absolutely on fire during that period, that's for sure.

If the Copa-winning Argentina squad somehow pull off a miracle and win it, Messi will be number one again.

AuthorKosta KönigSourceTribuna.com
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