2022 Ballon d'Or Nominees: Karim Benzema The Clear Favourite

The Ballon d'Or is the most prestigious individual award in world football and the nominees for the 2022 edition have been announced. This year's gala will be held on October 17th and Karim Benzema leads the list of 30 candidates, as the Real Madrid striker is the clear favourite to win this year's prize. There seems to be consensus on who should win the 2022 Ballon d'Or. There is every reason to place Benzema as the favourite, given that the Frenchman was the superstar of the Real Madrid side that won LaLiga Santander, the Spanish Super Cup and the Champions League last season.

It was his best campaign in terms of goals and assists stats, with 44 goals and 15 assists across all competitions.

This year, there is a change in how the Ballon d'Or is decided. As of 2022, the award will no longer be given based on performances in the calendar year, as it'll now be evaluated by the football season. In other words, only the 2021/22 campaign will be considered, which was when Benzema stood out for his performances.

However, the striker isn't the only Real Madrid or LaLiga player to have been nominated. The Frenchman is one of seven candidates who ply their trade in LaLiga Santander. Among the 30 contenders, there are also his teammates Thibaut Courtois, Vinicius, Casemiro, Luka Modric and Antonio Rudiger. Robert Lewandowski, FC Barcelona's new signing, is a nominee too.

If this year's Ballon d'Or is won by Benzema, or by any other LaLiga Santander player, it will further consolidate the dominance of Spanish football in this award. Looking at the history of the prize, the winner has belonged to a LaLiga Santander club on 23 occasions. That is followed by Serie A with 18 winners, the Bundesliga with nine and the Premier League