The 2022 Ballon d’Or will reward the best player of the 2021-22 season. The winner will be known in less than three weeks, but the first leak has come out and it shows neither Robert Lewandowski nor Kylian Mbappe in the top 3.
The 2022 Ballon d’Or ceremony is still a few weeks away, but fans are already looking forward to it. Although the winner won’t be announced until Monday, October 17, the leak has already gone viral on the internet. Robert Lewandowski or Kylian Mbappe are surprisingly not high on the list.
The Pole striker came close to winning the award last year when he lost out to Lionel Messi in a controversial decision. In his final season at Bayern Munich, Lewandowski once again posted incredible numbers. Still, the leak suggests he didn’t do enough to impress the jury.
As for Mbappe, it’s fair to say he was Paris Saint-Germain’s only bright spot last term. While PSG left a lot to be desired as a team, the Frenchman has put the team on their backs throughout the Ligue 1 campaign and on key nights in the UEFA Champions League. But many other players have leaked results.
First leak of 2022 Ballon d’Or has neither Lewandowski nor Mbappe among top 3
With the highly anticipated gala approaching, the first leak surfaced on social media and went viral within minutes. As expected, Karim Benzema leads the rankings with 27 points.
Needless to say, the Real Madrid star is the strongest contender for the Ballon d’Or after his fantastic performance in both Europe and Spain. The veteran striker is way ahead of the rest according to this leak, with Sadio Mane 11 points behind Benzema in second place.
Former teammate from Liverpool Mohamed Salah appears below Man with 14 points. Lewandowski is in fifth place with nine points, just one behind Brazilian winger Vinicius Junior, who scored the winning goal in last season’s UCL for Real Madrid.
Mbappe, meanwhile, is sixth but three points behind Lewandowski, who has taken his talents to FC Barcelona this season. Below on the leaked list are Kevin De Bruyne, Luka Modric, Erling Haaland, Thibaut Courtois, Cristiano Ronaldo and Son Heung-Min. Either way, we will have to wait at least 18 days for the official results. Until then, it will all just be rumours.
