The Ballon d’Or award will be given out in November after it was scrapped for the previous season, due to the coronavirus pandemic. Not all leagues had been restarted, with Ligue 1 and the Eredivisie being suspended completely due to the pandemic.
But after a year off, the award is now set to make its return with the 30 nominees for the men’s award to be released on 8th October. The winner of the award will be voted on by 180 journalists, and the award will be given out by France Football.
Alongside the men’s Ballon d’Or award, we will also have the nominees for the women’s award, the Kopa Trophy and the Yashin Trophy. The Yashin Trophy is awarded to the best goalkeeper of the season, and will be voted on by the same people as the Ballon d’Or.
Robert Lewandowski was the favourite to win the award last year after Bayern Munich won the sextuple, with the Polish striker leading the line. However, the award was scrapped despite the Bayern star being well ahead of his competitors, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. After breaking Gerd Muller’s 40-goal record in the Bundesliga, Lewandowski is in contention for the award yet again.
This year, Chelsea midfielder Jorginho has emerged as a candidate for the golden award as well. He won the Champion League with Chelsea in 2021, and a month later, was crowned Champion of Europe again with Italy. N’Golo Kante is also another name that could win the award this year.
