The Ballon d’Or shortlist is out for 2022, and there’s a glaring omission.
Lionel Messi, the seven-time honoree and reigning winner of France Football’s prestigious prize, has been left out of the running for the first time since 2005. His PSG teammate, Neymar, also did not make the final cut, while the second-most successful player in the award’s history, Cristiano Ronaldo, did secure a place among the top 30, which was revealed on Friday.
Whether Ronaldo, who led Manchester United in scoring in his return to Old Trafford last season, should still have a place in the conversation can be debated, but Messi and Neymar simply didn’t have good enough seasons for PSG to warrant being close to the award. If anything, their international contributions during World Cup qualifying could have put them back into contention for the shortlist, but it’s O.K. for transcendent stars and personalities to not have automatic inclusion when it comes to awards season. It’s healthy and frankly far too uncommon. Off years happen, and for Messi particularly, he had a paltry six goals in Ligue 1 last season (he hadn’t scored fewer than 23 in any league season with Barcelona dating back to 2008–09). While his 14 assists were second in the league, that’s hardly Ballon d’Or material—especially not the standard at which he has previously won the award. Whether that means he shouldn’t be in the top 30 might not be so black and white, but this simply was not his year.
