News2022 Ballon d'Or: Liverpool's nominees, how to watch, voting and more
The winner of the 2022 Ballon d'Or will be revealed on Monday evening – here's all you need to know about the award and which Liverpool players are in the running.
When is it?
The Ballon d'Or ceremony takes place at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris on Monday and begins at 7.30pm BST.
Fans can stream the event for free on L'Equipe's YouTube channel.
Which Liverpool players are in the running?
When the 30-man shortlist was revealed in August, it featured half-a-dozen members of Jürgen Klopp's current Reds squad.
Trent Alexander-Arnold, Luis Diaz, Fabinho, Darwin Nunez, Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk were those included among the contenders.
Alexander-Arnold, Diaz, Fabinho, Salah and Van Dijk had, of course, helped the Reds lift both the Carabao Cup and Emirates FA Cup in 2021-22, while also finishing runners-up in the Premier League and Champions League.
Summer signing Nunez, meanwhile, was acknowledged after a prolific campaign in which he struck 34 goals in all competitions for Benfica.
Also a nominee was Liverpool legend Sadio Mane, an Africa Cup of Nations winner last term in addition to his integral role in the Reds' push for a quadruple.
Who else has been nominated?
Full shortlist: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Karim Benzema, Joao Cancelo, Casemiro, Thibaut Courtois, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kevin De Bruyne, Luis Diaz, Fabinho, Phil Foden, Erling Haaland, Sebastien Haller, Harry Kane, Joshua Kimmich, Rafael Leao, Robert Lewandowski, Riyad Mahrez, Mike Maignan, Sadio Mane, Kylian Mbappe, Luka Modric, Christopher Nkunku, Darwin Nunez, Antonio Rudiger, Mohamed Salah, Bernardo Silva, Son Heung-min, Virgil van Dijk, Vinicius Junior, Dusan Vlahovic.
How does voting work?
A change of format now sees the vote based on a player's achievements during a football season – in this case 2021-22 – rather than a calendar year.
A journalist from each of the top 100 nations in the FIFA world rankings select their top five players from the 30-man shortlist.
The player ranked first on a voter's form receives six points; second is given four; third – three points; fourth – two points; fifth – one point.
If players are tied on overall points, the number of first-place votes will be used as a tie-breaker.
Any other awards?
Alisson Becker is a nominee for the 2022 Yashin Trophy, which recognises the best-performing goalkeeper in the 2021-22 campaign.
The 2019 winner is up against Yassine Bounou, Thibaut Courtois, Ederson, Mike Maignan, Edouard Mendy, Manuel Neuer, Jan Oblak, Kevin Trapp and Hugo Lloris.
The recipient of that prize, the Women's Ballon d'Or and Kopa Trophy – for best young player – will also be announced during the ceremony.
Liverpool's recent history with the Ballon d'Or
- 2021: Salah 7th
- 2019: Van Dijk 2nd, Mane 4th, Salah 5th, Alisson 7th, Roberto Firmino 17th, Alexander-Arnold 19th, Georginio Wijnaldum =26th
- 2018: Salah 6th, Firmino =19th, Mane =22nd, Alisson =25th
- 2017: Mane 23rd, Philippe Coutinho =29th
Michael Owen, in 2001, is the only Liverpool player to have won the Ballon d'Or.