Coronavirus pandemic, the award returned in 2021 as Messi claimed the honour for the seventh time of his career, with Cristiano Ronaldo second on the list with five.
But, after a tough first season with Paris Saint-Germain, Messi and team-mate Neymar have both been omitted from the 30-man shortlist.
Real Madrid's Karim Benzema, Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne and Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski are the front-runners for the award.The winner of the Ballon d"or is based on their individual performance from the previous season, team success from the previous season and player behavior and fair play from the previous season.
Below is the 30-man shortlist for the 2022 Ballon d'Or:As the award ceremony draws closer, Daily Star Sport decided to simulate the next decade using Football Manager 2022 to see which players would win the award in 2022 and the following nine years.To set up this simulation, we updated the Football Manager 2022 database with the correct players, transfers, managers and competitions in-game.
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