Ballon d’Or 2022: Kevin De Bruyne should be favourite, but the fact he isn’t is a testament to Man City team-mates

Goals, goals, goals. It’s all about goals. Mohamed Salah starts the season on fire.

Hand him the Ballon d’Or. Robert Lewandowski scores the quickest Champions League knockout hat-trick. Hand him the Ballon d’Or.

Kylian Mbappe scores the winner against Real Madrid and shines over Lionel Messi and Neymar. The Ballon d’Or is his to lose. Back-to-back hat-tricks for Karim Benzema? Okay now he should win the Ballon d’Or.

Ad/> As it stands, the quartet are the leading contenders to win the Ballon d’Or, with Benzema currently favourite with the bookmakers having taken the reigns of Real Madrid’s bid to reclaim La Liga and reach the Champions League final. Premier LeagueMan Utd pay their players a lot of money… for limited return — The Warm-Up23/03/2022 AT 08:46 Mbappe and PSG may no longer be in the Champions League, but Benzema, Lewandowski and Salah all remain, with Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Liverpool looking to reach the semi-finals this week. Success in Europe often goes some way towards deciding the Ballon d’Or winner, and given the shake-up by France Football means it will be awarded before the World Cup plays out this winter, the Champions League could prove decisive.

It says something, therefore, about Manchester City that despite being favourites to win the competition, not a single player features in the top-five contenders for the esteemed individual award. City’s players are unlikely to be overly fussed. Only teams win titles, and with this squad still fighting on three fronts, they are on the cusp of a feat that has not been achieved by an English club for 23 years.