On Monday, September 22, all eyes will be on the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, where the 69th edition of the Ballon d’Or, organised by France Football, will take place.
30 nominated footballers
The award is contested by 30 players who were nominated on August 7. PSG is the club with the most players on the list (Donnarumma, Nuno Mendes, Achraf, Dembele, Vitinha, Doue, Joao Neves, Fabian and Kvaratskhelia). In addition, the European champion, Barca and Madrid contribute four and three players respectively. Lamine Yamal, Pedri, Lewandowski and Raphinha are the representatives of the Catalan team; Mbappe, Vinicius and Bellingham, those of the white team
What is certain is that the scepter will not be able to be revalidated by last year’s winner, Rodri. The second Ballon d’Or in the history of Spanish football was practically the whole of last season on the sidelines due to a serious knee injury.
In the women’s section, there is also a list of 30 players where the favorites are some representatives of Spanish soccer. Alexia Putellas and Aitana Bonmati, two-time winners respectively, are in the running, but it may be the year of Mariona Caldentey, European champion with Arsenal. We should not forget the influence of the European Championship, which was won by England led by Alessia Russo.
How do the votes work?
The Ballon d’Or is decided by a list of 180 journalists from the 100 best FIFA-ranked countries, who will also vote for the Yashin Trophy for the best goalkeeper (and this year, for the first time, also for the best goalkeeper).
Each journalist will score five players and encompassing all the votes, from there will come the final winner. However, the Kopa Trophy, which will also have a women’s edition for the first time, will be chosen by the winners of the Ballon d’Or who are still alive. Like the aforementioned awards, the Gerd Muller Trophy will also be awarded this year in the women’s category.
- First choice: Six points
- Second choice: Four points
- Third choice: Colon
- Fourth choice: Colon
- Fifth choice: A point
Therefore, there is no jury as such to decide who is the winner of this award, but the Ballon d’Or winner will be chosen from the votes of the 180 journalists from the 100 best FIFA-ranked countries.
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