Lewandowski's disappointment, Karim Benzema 'steals' the Ballon d'Or; player rankings

Karim Benzema is the winner of the Ballon d'Or for 2022. An undoubtedly outstanding season for the Real Madrid striker.

Benzema scored over 40 goals for club and country while providing a string of assists as he picked up winners' medals in the Champions League, La Liga and UEFA Nations League.

2. Sadio Mane

Mane's final season with Liverpool got off to a slow start, but he returned to his best form after featuring for Senegal at the Africa Cup of Nations, where he represented his national team well.

3. Kevin De Buryne  

De Bruyne got off to a smooth start to the first season, before exploding as he went on to score a number of important goals in both the Premier League and Champions League for City.

4. Robert Lewandowski

Lewandowski enjoyed another 50-goal season during which he proved he would be the last in the Bayern Munich ranks.

5. Mohamed Salah

Arguably the best player in the world during the first half of last season, Salah remained key for Liverpool during the competition despite disappointing on the international stage for Egypt.

6. Kylian Mbappe

The only member of PSG's much-talked-about trio to make the shortlist, Mbappe stepped up where Lionel Messi and Neymar battled as he claimed trophies at both club and international level in 2021-22.

Ranking of candidate players:

7. Thibaut Courtois - Real Madrid

8. Vinicius Junior - Real Madrid

9. Luka Modric - Real Madrid

10. Erling Haaland - Manchester City

11. Son Heung-min - Tottenham

12. Riyad Mahrez - Manchester City

13. Sebastien Haller - Borussia Dortmund

14. Rafael Leao - AC Milan

15. Fabinho - Liverpool

16. Virgil van Dijk - Liverpool

17. Luis Diaz - Liverpool

18. Casemiro - Manchester United

19. Cristiano Ronaldo - Manchester United

20. Harry Kane - Tottenham

21. Trent Alexander-Arnold - Liverpool

22. Bernardo Silva - Manchester City

23. Phil Foden - Manchester City

24. Mike Maignan - AC Milan

25. Darein Nunez - Liverpool

26. Joshua Kimmich - Bayern Munich

27. Christopher Nkunku - RB Leipzig

28. Joao Cancelo - Manchester City

29. Antonio Rudiger - Real Madrid