Football News

    Ballon d’Or 2022 odds: Benzema runaway favourite but Lewandowski believes hopes are “shorter” at Barcelona

    By Mohamed Moallim

    Ballon d'Or 2022 odds: Benzema runaway favourite but Lewandowski believes hopes are "shorter" at Barcelona

    Published: 15:27, 20 September 2022

    France Football have announced their 30-man shortlist for the 2022 Ballon d’Or award.

    Record six-time winner Lionel Messi is the incumbent but will have to wait for a seventh crown as he’s surprisingly omitted from this year’s field.

    Find the latest 2022 Ballon d’Or odds* here:

    Karim Benzema favourite 1/33 with Paddy Power
    Other contenders Paddy Power
    Kylian Mbappe 16/1
    Erling Haaland 16/1
    Mohamed Salah 25/1
    Virgil van Dijk 25/1
    Robert Lewandowski  33/1
    Kevin De Bruyne   33/1
    Harry Kane  33/1
    Vinicius Junior  33/1
    Sadio Mane 33/1
    You have to be 18+ to gamble. All odds within this article are accurate at the time of writing (15:00, 20/09/2022). BeGambleAware.

    Paddy Power betting offer: Up to £20 cash back - money back as cash if your first bet up to £20 loses

    1. Follow THIS LINK (or click the image below) to open a new account using promo code YSKWEX
    2. Deposit a minimum of £10 using a card.
    3. Place a Sportsbook bet on Football at min. odds of 2.0 (1/1). For the purposes of this promotion, your first ever settled bet will be counted as the qualifying bet.
    4. If your bet loses, your stake up to £20 will be refunded as cash
    5. Qualifying requirements must be completed within 90 days of account opening.

    18+ only. New customers only. Place your FIRST bet on any market at odds of min 2.0 (EVS) and if it loses we will refund your stake in CASH. Max refund for this offer is £20. Only deposits made using cards will qualify for this promotion. T&Cs apply. Please Gamble Responsibly. For more information, visit begambleaware.org.

    Karim Benzema the favourite

    It comes as no surprise after the season he’s just had that Karim Benzema is the runaway favourite. The lethal French marksman guided Real Madrid to a La Liga-Champions League double, finishing at top scorer for each competition.

    Benzema will be hoping to become France’s first Ballon d’Or winner since his former Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane took the award home in 1998.

    Can Mohamed Salah or Sadio Mane join George Weah?

    Down the years, in reaction to changing times, the award – voted for by journalists – has evolved. From 1995 onwards, for example, non-European players were eligible to win. George Weah was the first to do so and the current President of Liberia dedicated his prize to his former AS Monaco coach Arsene Wenger; the man who gave him that golden opportunity.

    Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane, who both played an instrumental role in Liverpool’s unprecedented Quadruple push, hope to follow in the footsteps of Weah and become Africa’s second winner. Mane’s hopes will have been boosted by Senegal winning the Afirca Cup of Nations earlier this year.

    Lewandowski: Path to Ballon d’Or is ‘shorter’ from Barcelona than Bayern

    Many believe that Robert Lewandowski was robbed of the Ballon d’Or in the past two years. In 2020 he was a shoo-in to win the award after his goals helped Bayern Munich win the Treble of the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and Champions League. However, the awards were cancelled and Lewandowski only added FIFA’s The Best Men’s Player to his collection.

    Last year Lewandowski broke the Bundesliga record for the most goals in a single campaign but due to a poor showing at Euro 2020, alongside Lionel Messi winning Copa America with Argentina, the Polish striker was snubbed. Again picking up FIFA’s The Best Men’s Player award, Lewandowski was also given the inaugural ‘Goalscorer of the Year’ award which some theorise was created to soften the impact of the Polish striker missing out on the Ballon d’Or.

    Lewandowski had another good season with Bayern in 2021/22 but was nowhere near the levels required to challenge Benzema for the Ballon d’Or. However, he has started life at Barcelona well, scoring 11 goals in eight games across all competitions.

    And Lewandowski believes he will have a better chance of winning the Ballon d’Or at his new club than he did with Bayern.

    “I know that Barcelona are a team where the most players have won it,” Lewandowski told reporters.

    “I think the path is shorter from Barcelona than from Bayern (Munich).”

    Who’s in the running for 2022 Ballon d’Or Féminin?

    Since introduced in 2018 there have been three different winners of the Ballon d’Or Féminin with Ada Hegerberg being the inaugural recipient. Megan Rapinoe and Alexia Putellas would celebrate the individual achievement and there’s every chance Putellas could defend her title.

    However, there’s stiff competition with no fewer than three of England’s successful Euro 2022 winners among the nominees which also features the daughter of five-time NBA champion Dennis Rodman (though it may not be long before he is referred to as the father of Trinity Rodman).

    • Selma Bacha (Lyon/France)
    • Fridolina Rolfo (Barcelona/Sweden)
    • Vivianne Miedema (Arsenal/Netherlands)
    • Lucy Bronze (Barcelona/England)
    • Sam Kerr (Chelsea/Australia)
    • Christiane Endler (Lyon/Chile)
    • Lena Oberdorf (Wolfsburg/Germany)
    • Catarina Macario (Lyon/United States)
    • Alexia Putellas (Barcelona/Spain)
    • Alexandra Popp (Wolfsburg/Germany)

    • Aitana Bonmati (Barcelona/Spain)
    • Wendie Renard (Lyon/France)
    • Alex Morgan (San Diego Wave/United States)
    • Beth Mead (Arsenal/England)
    • Asisat Oshoala (Barcelona/Nigeria)
    • Marie-Antoinette Katoto (PSG/France)
    • Millie Bright (Chelsea/England)
    • Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit/United States)
    • Ada Hegerberg (Lyon/Norway)

    READ MORE:

    Previous Article

    "We thought we had him" - Man Utd legend Bryan...

    Next Article

    Who are the five most exciting Champions League players right...

    Related Articles

    Show More