With the Ballon d’or ceremony just hours away, I will once again predict the placement of the 30 nominees. As always this is just my opinion so if you disagree tell us your opinion on our Instagram!
15. Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal, Manchester United)
Now the first in the top half is the player with more Ballon d’ors than the entirety of the other 29 players on this list. Yes, Cristiano Ronaldo, the player who came 6th in the Premier League makes it in over the likes of Bernardo Silva and Casemiro. And it is for two reasons: Reason number 1- He is Cristiano Ronaldo and we have seen examples of how favourites were played last year. Reason number 2- He managed to notch up over 20 goals in the trainwreck that was the Manchester United 21/22 squad.
14. Christopher Nkunku (France, RB Leipzig)
Wow, just wow. What a 21/22 season Christopher Nkunku had. Scoring 28 and assisting 20 in a season where he won 4 player of the month awards- three of which coming back to back. As well as this he helped RB Leipzig lift the DFB Pokal for the first time in their history. Magnifique Christopher!
13th Heung Min Son (South Korea, Tottenham)
Heung Min Son had quite the 21/22 season. He scored 23 in the Premier League as he was named joint top scorer. His linkups with Harry Kane were the driving factor for Tottenham’s Champions League return. The fact that he didn’t even get nominated for player of the year is bizarre!
12th Joao Cancelo (Portugal, Manchester City)
Joao Cancelo, the best left back in the world currently and who I personally believe to be the highest ranking fullback on this list. He is the perfect all round footballer, he has an excellent passing range, is skilful when going forward, isn’t afraid to have a shot and does all this whilst being defensively sound. Finally Trent Alexander-Arnold has some serious competition as the best fullback in the world.
11th Virgil van Dijk (Netherlands, Liverpool)
Virgil van Dijk, in my opinion, was the best defender in the 2021/22 season. He bounced back from his knee injury like nothing had happened and gave Liverpool what they were missing last season. With a tackle success rate of 63% and 50 headed clearance he is the dominating defensive figure in world football.
10th Luka Modric (Croatia, Real Madrid)
And moving into the top 10… Luka Modric. I think it's fair to say that over the past few seasons Luka Modric has taken his foot off the gas. But I think Luka noticed this too as he started playing like there was no tomorrow. Blowing the dust off passes we haven’t seen for years and years as he provided crucial assists in both the Champions League and La Liga.
9th Erling Haaland (Norway, Manchester City)
The man is a machine. Erling Haaland scored 22 in just 24 Bundesliga appearances last season. Mental. He had half of the season out and still managed to come third top scorer in the Bundesliga! And now he has linked up with Pep Guardiola at Manchester City. I guess no one else will win the league for a few years now.
8th Thibaut Courtois (Belgium, Real Madrid)
If this man doesn’t win the Yashin award then those responsible are either corrupt or incompetent. Courtois has been remarkably quiet in the past few years for Real but this year was his year to flourish as he swatted away shots left and right helping Real win the league. Not only did he do that, but Courtois put in one of the best goalkeeping performances in a Champions League Final (against Liverpool) as he won man of the match and Los Blancos won the final.
7th Vinicius Jr. (Brazil, Real Madrid)
Vinicius Jr. is by far the most skilful player on this list. He can do flicks and tricks ‘til the cows come home and uses that to his advantage to score and create goals for Los Blancos. In fact, Vini got 30 goals and assists in La Liga alone last season as well as scoring the goal which won Real their 14th Champions League.
6th Kylian Mbappe (France, PSG)
It’s just a given by now that Kylian Mbappe is among the ten best players in the world right now. He had yet another staggering season in Ligue 1 last year- averaging 1.34 goal involvements per appearance. Additionally, Mbappe is now the highest paid footballer in the world after receiving a bumper contract from PSG worth over £150,000,000.
5th Robert Lewandowski (Poland, Barcelona)
Yes, I have predicted Robert Lewandowski to drop down from second place to fifth,but that is mainly because of the trophy factor. Each of the four players ahead of Robert have more trophies than him in the past year. His lower rank, however, does not mean he has performed worse as he scored 35 in 34 Bundesliga appearances.
4th Mohamed Salah (Egypt, Liverpool)
What a weird and wonderful year Mohamed Salah had. He had a blistering start registering over 15 goals by the halfway mark of the season. However after captaining his Egypt side to a loss on penalties in the AFCON final it was clear that Mo lost a lot of confidence. That didn’t stop him playing an integral part in Liverpool’s side as he won both the Premier League Golden boot and top assister as Liverpool won a domestic cup double.
3rd Kevin de Bruyne (Belgium, Manchester City)
Kevin de Bruyne proved to us once again that he is the best midfielder in the world last season. He helped Manchester City win the Premier League and come agonisingly close to two other trophies with his well-timed passes and fantastic long-range finishes. He really is out of this world!
2nd Sadio Mane (Senegal, Bayern Munich)
Sadio Mane did everybody in Senegal proud in this past year. Winning two trophies with Liverpool in- a new position too! As well as securing Senegal’s first ever AFCON win- scoring the decisive penalty in the final. He was Liverpool’s main man in the second half of the season when Mo Salah began misfiring and it looks as though they are missing him. All of this , I believe, makes him worthy of coming second in the Ballon d’or.
1st Karim Benzema (France, Real Madrid)
I think everyone saw this coming, Karim Benzema has been the best player in the world for the past year. Whether he is scoring a cool panenka in the eighth minute of stoppage time or coolly sliding a pass to an open teammate to win the Champions League, Benzema has done the lot! His 45 goals and 15 assists across all competitions last season are the mark of a worthy winner. Karim, take a bow.
By Jake MacLeod
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