The 66th edition of the prestigious Ballon d'Or 2022 is all set to take place on Monday (October 17) at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, who have dominated the award for the last one and a half decades, are not in the race for the coveted prize this year. Let’s take a look at who is favourite to win the award and where to watch it live, including the award ceremony date and venue. Who is expected to win the Ballon d'Or 2022 and the nominees Argentine superstar Lionel Andres Messi, who has won the award a record seven times, didn't make the top 30 nominees. Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi's main rival and the five-time winner of the trophy, made the list but is not seen as one of the favourites this time. Read: Mbappe transfer: Possible destinations if he leaves in Jan 2023 Real Madrid’s French forward Karim Benzema is overwhelmingly favourite to win the Ballon d'Or 2022 after an illuminating season with Real Madrid. Benzema was a pivotal figure for the Spanish giants in winning both La Liga and the UEFA Champions League in the 2021–2022 season. Had Benzema not been a part of the Madrid side, they wouldn’t have won any trophies last season. Karim is likely to become the first Frenchman to win the award since the great Zinedine Zidane won it in 1998. Liverpool’s Egyptian forward Mohamed Salah, Manchester City’s midfielder Kevin de Bruyne, Bayern Munich’s Sadio Mane, and Benzema’s Real Madrid colleagues Vinicius Junior and Thibaut Courtois are among the favourites to finish in the top three in the list. Mohamed Salah had a great season with English club Liverpool in the 2021–2022 season, netting 31 goals in 51 matches. He helped Liverpool to win three trophies: the FA Cup, the EFL Cup and the Community Shield. Sadio Mane was a pivotal figure for Liverpool in their attacking half last season. He netted 23 goals in 51 appearances for the Reds. On the other hand, Manchester City's Kevin de Bruyne has been the best midfielder in the Premier League in the last few seasons. Real Madrid's Thibaut Courtois was brilliant under the goalpost and was one of their main star players in the 2021–2022 season. Besides, Vinicius Junior has become a real revolution for Madrid since last season. The players who have nominated for the Ballon d’or 2022 award Thibaut Courtois (Belgium, Real Madrid), Rafael Leao (Portugal, AC Milan), Christopher Nkunku (France, RB Leipzig), Karim Benzema (France, Real Madrid), Riyad Mahrez (Algeria, Manchester City), Casemiro (Brazil, Real Madrid), Heung-Min Son (South Korea, Tottenham), Fabinho (Brazil, Liverpool), Kylian Mbappe (France, Paris Saint-Germain), Mohamed Salah (Egypt, Liverpool), Joshua Kimmich (Germany, Bayern Munich), Trent Alexander-Arnold (England, Liverpool), Vinicius Junior (Brazil, Real Madrid), Bernardo Silva (Portugal, Manchester City), Luis Diaz (Colombia, Liverpool), Robert Lewandowski (Poland, Barcelona), Mike Maignan (France, AC Milan), Harry Kane (England, Tottenham Hotspur), Darwin Nunez (Uruguay, Liverpool), Phil Foden (England, Manchester City), Sadio Mane (Senegal, Bayern Munich), Sebastien Haller (Ivory Coast, Borussia Dortmund), Luka Modric (Croatia, Real Madrid), Antonio Rudiger (Germany, Real Madrid), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal, Manchester United), Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium, Manchester City), Erling Haaland (Norway, Manchester City), Virgil van Dijk (Netherlands, Liverpool), Dusan Vlahovic (Serbia, Juventus), Joao Cancelo (Portugal, Manchester City) Apart from the Ballon d'Or for men, the French Football magazine also gives awards for other categories. The most notable ones are: the best female player, the best goalkeeper, and the best young player of the previous season. Read: Maradona's 'Hand of God' ball expected to rake in $2.7m-$3.3m at auction Who is the favourite to win the Ballon d'Or Feminin 2022? Twenty female footballers have been nominated for the prestigious award. Barcelona’s Spanish midfielder, Alexia Putellas, is the favourite to win the Ballon d’Or Feminin 2022 award. Beth Mead, the champion of the EURO 2022 tournament for England; Sam Kerr, an Australian forward for Chelsea; Wendie Reynard, a French defender for Lyon; and Ada Hegerberg, a Norwegian forward, are all among the favourites to win the award. Who has the edge to take home the Kopa Trophy 2022? The Kopa Trophy has been given to a player who is under the age of 21 since 2018. Kylian Mbappe, Matthijs de Ligt and Pedri were the previous winners. 10 players have been nominated for this year’s award, with 3 German representatives in the list. Borussia Dortmund’s English midfielder Jude Bellingham is currently the top favourite to win the Kopa Trophy 2022 after a stellar performance with the club last season. Besides Real Madrid’s Eduardo Camavinga, Barcelona’s Gavi, Paris Saint-Germain’s Nuno Mendes and Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka are among the favourites. Who has the best chances to win the Yashin Trophy 2022? The Yashin Trophy has been awarded to the best goalkeeper of the previous season since 2019. Brazil’s Alisson and Italy’s Gianluigi Donnarumma were the past winners. Ten players have been nominated for this year’s award, where Real Madrid’s Thibaut Courtois is a strong favourite to win it. Besides, Alisson and Edouard Mendy also have a fair chance to win the Yashin Trophy 2022. Read: Neymar faces fraud trial for Barcelona transfer from Santos When will the 66th edition of the Ballon d'Or take place? The 2022 Ballon d'Or award ceremony will be held in the evening on October 17 (Monday) in France, which is 12.30 a.m. (Bangladesh Standard Time) on Tuesday. The event will take place at the famous Theatre du Chatelet in Paris. Where to watch the 2022 Ballon d'Or live? The 2022 Ballon d'Or award ceremony will be broadcast live on France's leading sporting daily newspaper, L'Equipe’s YouTube channel, and website. L'Equipe YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyIV8rkza5Uk_sJIhqilBvQL'Equipe website: https://www.lequipe.fr/ Verdict The nominees for the annual award ceremony of the French Football magazine were revealed on August 12. Karim Benzema's winning the Ballon d'Or 2022 is all but guaranteed after a standout 2021–2022 season with Spanish powerhouse Real Madrid. Therefore, the main attraction would be to see who made the podium (top 3). Read: Forbes Highest-paid Footballers 2022: Mbappe overtakes Messi, Ronaldo

The 30-man shortlist for the French Football magazine’s yearly award, the Ballon d'Or, was revealed on August 12 (Friday). For the very first time, the award will be given based on the results of the previous season, not the year. Therefore, this year’s main event will be held on October 17 at the Théâtre du Chatelet. Argentina’s Lionel Messi wasn’t included among the nominees for the first time since 2005. France’s Karim Benzema is the early favoruite to win this year's award. Besides, some of the players from the shortlist are nominated for the award for the first time. Let's look at the Ballon d'Or 2022 predictions. Potential candidates to win the 2022 Ballon d’Or award Some footballers deserve to be included among the top three lists for the gala event because of their outstanding 2021–2022 European club football seasons. Here are the top 10 players that have a chance to take home the prestigious award. 10) Son Heung-min (South Korea & Tottenham Hotspur) Notable achievements in 2021-2022 season:  Premier League Golden Boot (personal) Son Heung-min became the first Asian player to win the Premier League Golden Boot award in the 2021–2022 season with 23 goals. He was one of the top performers in European club football last season. Son netted 30 goals and assisted 10, helping Tottenham to finish in the top four in the points table. Read FIFA suspends India's football body over 'third party influence' 9) Trent Alexander-Arnold (England & Liverpool) Notable achievements in 2021-2022 season: FA Cup, EFL Cup, FA Community Shield, Champions League (Runner-Up) Trent Alexander-Arnold might not be one of the top fullbacks in Europe in terms of defensive prowess. However, going forward, he is one of the best in the world, as evidenced by his 22 assists last season. 8) Thibaut Courtois (Belgium & Real Madrid) Notable achievements in 2021-2022 season:  La Liga, Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, Supercopa de Espana Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois had a fantastic 2021-2022 season with Real Madrid. Courtois made a total of 23 clean sheets and his brilliant performance in the UCL final helped Madrid win their 14th Champions League trophy. 7)  Luka Modric (Croatia & Real Madrid) Notable achievements in 2021-2022 season:  La Liga, Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, Supercopa de Espana At 36, Luka Modric has proved that he is still capable of producing magical performances when needed. Modric had some brilliant moments with Real Madrid last season, especially in the Champions League. Apart from scoring 7 goals, the sensational midfielder also made 14 assists. Read Barcelona sells more assets as it hopes to register players 6) Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium & Manchester City) Notable achievements in 2021-2022 season:  Premier League Attacking midfielder Kevin De Bruyne had another stellar season with Manchester City. He netted 21 goals and assisted 18 times last season, which helped the Citizens to win the Premier League title for the fourth time in five years. 5) Vinicius Junior (Brazil & Real Madrid) Notable achievements in 2021-2022 season:  La Liga, Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, Supercopa de Espana The Brazilian wunderkind Vinicius Junior was one of the key members of Real Madrid’s fruitful 2021–2022 season. He has shown magnificent bondage with Karim Benzema upfront, which ultimately helped the Los Blancos to win the UCL trophy. Vinicius scored 22 goals apart from assisting 19 times. 4) Robert Lewandowski (Poland, Bayern Munich & Barcelona) Notable achievements in 2021-2022 season:  Bundesliga, European Golden Boot (personal) The Polish goal machine, Robert Lewandowski, had another magnificent season with Bayern Munich. He scored 57 times in the 2021–2022 season for the Bavarians. Lewandowski can finish in the top three since the Ballon d’Or is an individual award. Read Benzema, Courtois, De Bruyne on shortlist for UEFA award 3) Mohamed Salah (Egypt & Liverpool) Notable achievements in 2021-2022 season:  FA Cup, EFL Cup, FA Community Shield, Champions League (Runner-Up), Premier League Golden Boot (personal) Liverpool’s main hitman, Egyptian Mohamed Salah, found the net 33 times and made 19 assists as well last season. Salah was one of the main reasons Liverpool reached three finals and finished second in the Premier League. 2) Sadio Mane (Senegal, Liverpool & Bayern Munich) Notable achievements in 2021-2022 season:  FA Cup, EFL Cup, DFL-Supercup, Champions League (Runner-Up) Sadio Mane was simply incredible during the 2021-2022 season. He smashed 33 goals and assisted five times for Liverpool, helping his team to win the FA Cup and EFL Cup. Mane is the early favourite to finish in the top three on the list. 1) Karim Benzema (France & Real Madrid) Notable achievements in 2021-2022 season:  La Liga, Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, Supercopa de Espana, Pichichi Trophy (personal), UCL player of the season (personal), UCL top goal scorer (personal) Almost everyone is of the opinion that Karim Benzema will win the Ballon d'Or 2022 award after a stellar campaign with Real Madrid. He has been Madrid's go-to player for the past two years, scoring goals when his club most needed them. The Frenchman contributed 15 assists along with 48 goals scored for Real Madrid last season. Karim also won the UEFA Nations League (2020–21). Read Rights group urges FIFA, Qatar to compensate WCup workers Verdict The majority of football experts and journalists think that French forward Karim Benzema of Real Madrid will win this year's Ballon d'Or 2022 award because of how he played in the 2021–202 season. Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane are the heavy favorites to place in the top three since Liverpool finished as the runners-up in the Champions League last year. Besides that, Vinicius Junior and Robert Lewandowski are the other two contenders who have a good chance of making the top three list.