The 2022 Balon d'Or ceremony is set to take place in Paris on Monday evening (October 17).
This year’s shortlist has been put forward by France Football, with Lionel Messi, who has won the award a record seven times, a notable absentee for the first time in 17 years. Significantly, the award is now based on performances over the season, rather than a calendar year.
Several Premier League stars have made the 30-man shortlist, with Trent Alexander-Arnold, Phil Foden and Harry Kane three English players to be nominated.
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With that all in mind, let's take a look at everything you need to know ahead of the ceremony.
When will the Ballon d'Or winner be announced?
The grand prize will be awarded at the end of the ceremony, which takes place in Paris on Monday, October 17. The ceremony is due to start at 7.30pm (BST).
How can you watch the ceremony?
You can watch the entire ceremony on L'Equipe's YouTube channel. Its official website will also live stream the awards. The ceremony isn't currently available on TV, though.
Ballon d’Or shortlist in full
The following players are in with a chance of winning the prestigious award. Real Madrid star Karim Benzema is a heavy favourite to win having captained his side to La Liga and Champions League success last campaign.
Club played for last season in brackets
- Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)
- Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)
- Joao Cancelo (Manchester City)
- Casemiro (Real Madrid)
- Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid)
- Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)
- Luis Diaz (Porto, Liverpool)
- Fabinho (Liverpool)
- Phil Foden (Manchester City)
- Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund)
- Sebastien Haller (Ajax)
- Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur)
- Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich)
- Rafael Leao (Milan)
- Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
- Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City)
- Mike Maignan (Milan)
- Sadio Mane (Liverpool)
- Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain)
- Luka Modric (Real Madrid)
- Christopher Nkunku (RB Leipzig)
- Darwin Nunez (Benfica)
- Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus, Manchester United)
- Antonio Rudiger (Chelsea)
- Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
- Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
- Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hotspur)
- Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
- Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid)
- Dusan Vlahovic (Fiorentina, Juventus)
What other awards will be given out?
The Feminin Ballon d’Or winner will also be announced. England stars Lucy Bronze, Millie Bright and Beth Mead are the Three Lionesses who made the shortlist. Chelsea’s Sam Kerr and Arsenal’s Vivianne Miedema are also on the 20 players shortlist, with Women’s Champions League winners Lyon having five players up for the award. Alexia Putellas of Barcelona Femeni - who agonisingly missed this summer's European Championships through injury - is favourite to win the women's award, however.
Elsewhere, Gunners star Bukayo Saka as well as Borussia Dortmund sensation Jude Bellingham are both on the ten-man shortlist for the Kopa Trophy, given to the best men's under-21 player. Four Premier League goalkeepers - including Tottenham's Hugo Lloris and Chelsea's Edouard Mendy - have been nominated for the Yashin Trophy. Alisson Becker, who won the inaugural award in 2019, is also on the shortlist once again, as is Manchester City's Ederson.
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