Ballon d’Or 2022 is up and running as the top 30 players have been announced and the list consists of 6 Liverpool players, while Alisson is on the list for the Yachine trophy.
Ballon d’Or is back!
France Football awards the trophy award for the best individual performer of the season.
Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema is the No.1 contender to win the award, following great performances throughout the season. While the biggest shocker was the non-inclusion of record 7-time winner Lionel Messi, who had a hard 1st season at PSG.
With 31 goals and 16 assists in 51 games for his club, Salah has had a memorable year despite the uncertainty surrounding his future at Liverpool.
The 30-year-old also did play 15 times for Egypt during a demanding season. Here they got to the Africa Cup of Nations final and a World Cup playoff match.
Despite his best efforts, Sadio Mane’s Senegal won both games, depriving Salah and his countrymen of the AFCON trophy and a spot in Qatar 2022.
6 Liverpool players in the 30-men Ballon d’Or shortlist
Salah has been wisely chosen for the initial 30-men list for the Ballon d’Or award due to his contributions to the club and country.
Along with his heroics for Senegal, he is backed among the nominees by Mane. Mane hit 23 goals and gave five assists in 51 games for Liverpool before moving on to Bayern Munich.
Trent Alexander-Arnold, Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez, Fabinho, and Virgil van Dijk are the other five Liverpool players on the list.
Prior to joining the Reds for £50 million during the winter transfer window, Diaz spent the first part of the season for Porto. He went on to guide them to the Primeira Liga championship.
The Colombian was instrumental in Liverpool’s quest for an unheard-of quadruple of titles. He contributed six goals and five assists in the second half of the season.
Nunez’s inclusion came after a 34-goal season with Benfica. Which led Liverpool to pay the highest fee in team history for him this summer.
After a successful first season from a long knee injury, Van Dijk made the final 30. Others like Fabinho and Alexander-Arnold both made a substantial contribution to the Reds’ success in 2021–2022.
The ceremony will take place in Paris on October 17th. Organizers will award the 2022 Ballon d’Or together with the Yashin Trophy for best goalkeeper, the Kopa Trophy for the best under-21 player, and the Ballon d’Or Feminin for the best female player.
