Ballon d’Or 2022 power rankings: Could Beth Mead gatecrash the party and beat Alexia Putellas to women's award?

England won Euro 2022 and Beth Mead picked up player of the tournament. That much we know, but how could it impact voting for this year’s Ballon d’Or? Our top five for the men’s list is unchanged from last time, but we’ll be debating the order some more next week ahead of France Football unveiling the shortlists on August 12 (the winners are crowned on October 17).

Ad/> There is basically nothing to stop Karim Benzema from winning the men’s prize, it would appear, but last month we backed Sadio Mane to pip Mohamed Salah to second, and we shall delve into that tussle for the runner-up spot a week from now – so too whether Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior will complete the top five. TransfersCity set to let Sterling leave as Chelsea prepare £50m offer — Paper Round29/06/2022 AT 04:58 Here, though, we are focused on the women’s Ballon d’Or, and look at how silverware has played a part when it comes to individual awards.

There is a short history when it comes to the Ballon d'Or Feminin, which was first awarded in 2018, but there is enough to suggest a handful of English players will break into the top 20 after their recent triumph. Scroll down to read our top five – with several honourable mentions to boot – to see whether we are backing Mead to trouble the reigning Ballon d’Or holder Alexia Putellas for the 2022 prize...

Previous Ballon d'Or power rankings ‘Scandal if Benzema doesn’t win the Ballon d’Or’ – Former Man Utd star Saha ‘It was a political choice’ — Ribery still angered about losing 2013 Ballon d’Or 5. Ada Hegerberg (Lyon & Norway) Dropping out of our top five is Marie-Antoinette Katoto, the PSG striker who agonisingly suffered an injury in the group stages that ruled her out for the remainder of the Euros with