Cristiano Ronaldo nominated for 2022 Ballon d’Or award | OneFootball

Cristiano Ronaldo has been included in the 30-man shortlist for the 2022 Ballon d’Or, while Paris Saint-Germain duo Lionel Messi and Neymar miss out.

The Manchester United veteran scored 18 goals in 31 league matches for the Red Devils last season.

This means Ronaldo has been nominated for a Ballon d’Or award more times (18) than any other player.

His former Real Madrid team-mate, Karim Benzema, is the favourite to win the award this season after leading Los Blancos to another Champions League triumph – beating Liverpool in the final.

It could be argued that Benzema has reached a new level following Ronaldo’s exit from Madrid in 2018, but for CR7, he is still one of the best in the world. That’s a remarkable achievement at 37.

2022 BALLON D’OR NOMINEES

• Thibaut Courtois (Real Madird) • Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) • Rafael Leao (AC Milan) • Christopher Nkunku (RB Leipzig) • Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich) • Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool) • Vinicius Jr (Real Madrid) • Bernardo Silva (Manchester City) • Luis Diaz (Liverpool) • Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona) • Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City) • Casemiro (Real Madrid) • Heung-Min Son (Tottenham) • Fabinho (Liverpool) • Karim Benzema (Real Madrid) • Mike Maignan (AC Milan) • Harry Kane (Tottenham) • Darwin Nunez (Liverpool) • Phil Foden (Manchester City) • Sadio Mane (Bayern Munich) • Sebastien Haller (Borussia Dortmund) • Luka Modric (Real Madrid) • Antonio Rudiger (Real Madrid) • Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United) • Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City) • Dusan Vlahovic (Juventus) • Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool) • Joao Cancelo (Manchester City) • Erling Haaland (Manchester City) • Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain)

Let us know in the comments section who you think should be taking home the Ballon d’Or this year?