Ballon d'Or

The Real Madrid striker picked up the trophy in Paris on Monday, but where did the rest of the 30 nominees place on the final list?

The Real Madrid striker claimed his first Golden Ball in Paris on Monday after a remarkable 2021-22 season for both club and country.

The Real Madrid star is the clear favourite to win the award for the first time ahead of Monday's ceremony in Paris

GOAL has been tracking the race for the most coveted individual award in men's football all year, and here's our final standings...

The Barca star took home the prize in 2021, but one of England's Euros heroes and Lyon's Champions League-winner Ada Hegerberg are in also contention

The final contenders for the most prestigious individual accolade in the game have been revealed

Barcelona's captain became only the third female winner of the prize last year, but has she done enough to retain it?

Real Madrid's No.1 has been tipped to take the gong after a stellar season with the Spanish giants that saw him become a Champions League winner

Everything you need to know about the 2022 Ballon d'Or, including when it is, nominees & more

The former Bundesliga star remains aggrieved by the call to award the forward the prize over him after voting was famously extended

Lionel Messi has won the Ballon d'Or a record seven times...

The PSG star also talked about comments made by Robert Lewandowski and criticism from the fans in Paris

The enigmatic Swedish striker claims he was always going to be overlooked for prestigious individual honours because he likes to speak his mind

The criteria for landing a prestigious prize will be tweaked slightly from this season and has an impact on performances at the 2022 World Cup

The Liverpool star has already elevated himself to world level but now he wants the medals and individual awards to cement his legacy

There was widespread surprise when the on-form Egyptian forward finished only seventh in the Ballon d'Or voting, well behind the top two

The prolific Bayern Munich striker is not expecting to be handed a Golden Ball for his efforts in 2020 despite having the support of an all-time great

The Bayern Munich striker finished behind Lionel Messi in the France Football vote but nobody has been playing with greater consistency than the Pole

The German midfielder has questioned the decision to hand the Argentine his seventh Golden Ball and feels Karim Benzema was more deserving

The Argentine wizard - as predicted by GOAL - won his seventh Golden Ball on November 29, beating the Bayern Munich star into second place

The Manchester United star came in sixth in the rankings for the 2021 award as Lionel Messi took the award home for the seventh time

Two years after the last Ballon d'Or was awarded to Lionel Messi, the ceremony has returned to recognise exceptional individual talent in football

The race to succeed 2019 winner Megan Rapinoe is on, with the best players from around the world all vying for top spot on the podium

The Italy international was taken advantage off as a youngster at Hellas Verona, but could now find himself on the podium for 2021's best footballer

The Blues No.1 is excelling every week on the field for his club but his impact off the field is even more significant

The France star wants to add his name to the list of Real Madrid stars to have claimed the award

The Blues' shot-stopper did not make the 30-man shortlist for the biggest individual prize in world football despite a stellar year between the sticks

The Manchester United star faces tough competition for the prize this year but his agent is convinced he deserves to win it

Barca star Caroline Graham Hansen was surprisingly overlooked for the annual award in the latest in a string of concerning calls for the women's game