Messi misses out on 30-man Ballon d'Or shortlist

Paris Saint-Germain forward Lionel Messi has not been included in the shortlist for the 2022 men's Ballon d'Or.

The Argentine maestro struggled for form in his first season in the French capital and is not in contention for this year's crown, despite winning the accolade a record seven times.

Read on to find out the latest on when and where the ceremony will take place, plus which potential candidates are in line to clinch the distinguished prize.

When is the 2022 Ballon d'Or?

The 2022 Ballon d'Or ceremony will be held at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris on Monday, October 17.

Due to the World Cup taking place in Qatar the following month, the glitzy affair has been moved forward to avoid a clash.

How does the 2022 Ballon d'Or voting system work?

Unlike previous editions, the 2022 vote will be based on performances during the past season, rather than during the calendar year.

A player's achievements from August 1, 2021, to July 31, 2022, will therefore be the basis of the award.

Shortlists of 30 men and 20 women was released by France Football with selected journalists from FIFA's top 100 nations eligible to vote.

The journalists will pick their top five players and points will be awarded to each.

Whichever player receives the most points in each shortlist will be awarded the prize.

If two players are tied on the same points, the number of first-place votes will determine the overall winner.

Who won the Ballon d'Or in 2021?

Messi won the men's award in 2021 but is already out of the running this time.

Barcelona's Alexia Putellas picked up the women's gong, in only the third edition of the prize.

Norwegian star Ada Hegerberg and American ace Megan Rapinoe are the two other previous recipients of the award.

Who are the favourites to win the 2022 Ballon d'Or?

Following a stunning 2021-22, Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema is the leading candidate for the men's prize.

Benzema, 34, fired Los Blancos to glory in both the Champions League and LaLiga, scoring 44 goals in all competitions.

Real team-mate Luka Modric is the only player other than Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo to have won the award since 2007.

The women's race is more of an open contest, although Putellas is favourite to retain her crown.

But she missed this summer's European Championship due to injury and could also not prevent Barca losing the Champions League final to Lyon.

This may open up the voting for one of the stars of Euro 2022 to lift the award, with goalscoring sensations Beth Mead and Alexandra Popp both in contention.

Who is on the 2022 Ballon d'Or shortlist?

The shortlists for the 2022 Ballon d'Or awards were announced on Friday, August 12.

Men's nominees

Trent Alexander-Arnold (England and Liverpool)

Karim Benzema (France and Real Madrid)

Joao Cancelo (Portugal and Manchester City)

Casemiro (Brazil and Real Madrid)

Thibaut Courtois (Belgium and Real Madrid)

Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium and Manchester City)

Luis Diaz (Colombia and Liverpool)

Fabinho (Brazil and Liverpool)

Phil Foden (England and Manchester City)

Erling Haaland (Norway and Manchester City)

Sebastien Haller (Ivory Coast and Borussia Dortmund)

Harry Kane (England and Tottenham)

Joshua Kimmich (Germany and Bayern Munich)

Rafael Leao (Portugal and AC Milan)

Robert Lewandowski (Poland and Barcelona)

Riyad Mahrez (Algeria and Manchester City)

Mike Maignan (France and AC Milan)

Sadio Mane (Senegal and Bayern Munich)

Kylian Mbappe (France and Paris Saint-Germain)

Luka Modric (Croatia and Real Madrid)

Christopher Nkunku (France and RB Leipzig)

Darwin Nunez (Uruguay and Liverpool)

Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal and Manchester United)

Antonio Rudiger (Germany and Real Madrid)

Mohamed Salah (Egypt and Liverpool)

Bernardo Silva (Portugal and Manchester City)

Heung-Min Son (South Korea and Tottenham)

Virgil van Dijk (Netherlands and Liverpool)

Vinicius Junior (Brazil and Real Madrid)

Dusan Vlahovic (Serbia and Juventus)

Women's nominees

Selma Bacha (France and Lyon)

Aitana Bonmati (Spain and Barcelona)

Millie Bright (England and Chelsea)

Lucy Bronze (England and Barcelona)

Kadidiatou Diani (France and Paris Saint-Germain)

Christiane Endler (Chile and Lyon)

Ada Hegerberg (Norway and Lyon)

Marie-Antoinette Katoto (France and Paris Saint-Germain)

Sam Kerr (Australia and Chelsea)

Catarina Macario (USA and Lyon)

Beth Mead (England and Arsenal)

Vivianne Miedema (Netherlands and Arsenal)

Alex Morgan (USA and San Diego Wave)

Lena Oberdorf (Germany and Wolfsburg)

Asisat Oshoala (Nigeria and Barcelona)

Alexandra Popp (Germany and Wolfsburg)

Alexia Putellas (Spain and Barcelona)

Wendie Renard (France and Lyon)

Trinity Rodman (USA and Washington Spirit)

Fridolina Rolfo (Sweden and Bayern Munich)