The Ballon d'Or is back, after being cancelled in 2020, with some of the world's top footballers eyeing the biggest individual honour the game has to offer.
The winner is set to be announced on Monday, November 29, 2021, with the shortlist now finalised featuring the likes of Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Robert Lewandowski, Mohamed Salah and Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Messi has won the most Ballon d'Or awards in the competition's history with six, closely followed by Ronaldo who currently has five to his name.
Messi is favourite to win this year's Ballon d'Or after success with Barcelona and Argentina earlier this year, paired with his 40 goals and 14 assists in 2021, but the likes of Euro 2020 winner Jorginho and his Chelsea team-mate N’Golo Kante also have their sights set on a shock win.
So, which players are on the 30-man shortlist for this year's Ballon d'Or award? Below is the shortlist for the 2021 Ballon d'Or:
- Cesar Azpilicueta - Chelsea & Spain
- Nicolo Barella - Inter Milan & Italy
- Karim Benzema - Real Madrid & France
- Leonardo Bonucci - Juventus & Italy
- Giorgio Chiellini - Juventus & Italy
- Kevin De Bruyne - Manchester City & Belgium
- Ruben Dias - Manchester City & Portugal
- Gianluigi Donnarumma - Paris Saint-Germain & Italy
- Bruno Fernandes - Manchester United & Portugal
- Phil Foden - Manchester City & England
- Erling Haaland - Borussia Dortmund & Norway
- Jorginho - Chelsea & Italy
- Harry Kane - Spurs & England
- N'Golo Kante - Chelsea & France
- Simon Kjaer - AC Milan & Denmark
- Robert Lewandowski - Bayern Munich & Poland
- Romelu Lukaku - Chelsea & Belgium
- Riyad Mahrez - Manchester City & Algeria
- Lautaro Martinez - Inter Milan & Argentina
- Kylian Mbappe - Paris Saint-Germain & France
- Lionel Messi - Paris Saint-Germain & Argentina
- Luka Modric - Real Madrid & Croatia
- Gerard Moreno - Villarreal & Spain
- Mason Mount - Chelsea & England
- Neymar - Paris Saint-Germain & Brazil
- Pedri - Barcelona & Spain
- Cristiano Ronaldo - Manchester United & Portugal
- Mohamed Salah - Liverpool & Egypt
- Raheem Sterling - Manchester City & England
- Luis Suarez - Atletico Madrid & Uruguay
A selection of international journalists, national team coaches and captains will vote to determine the winner of the award, with each voter being asked to rank their top five players for 2021.
Once complete, the prestigious prize will be handed out at a fancy ceremony in Paris on Monday, November 29.
As the ceremony draws closer, Mirror Football decided to simulate the next decade using Football Manager 2022 to see which players would win the award.
Would Messi win a seventh Ballon d'Or award, cementing his place as the best player in football history? Or would the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland break Messi's record for the most Ballon d'Or awards in history? Let's find out!
The next 10 Ballon d'Or winners predicted by Football Manager 2022
To set up this simulation, we updated the Football Manager 2022 database with the correct players, managers and competitions in-game. As the Football Manager 2022 season does not include data prior to July 1, 2021, the data for the Ballon d'Or 2021 awards is taken from the start of the 2021/22 season instead of the start of the calendar year.
Ballon d'Or top three in 2021
1st: Lionel Messi - Paris Saint-Germain & Argentina
2nd: Erling Haaland - Borussia Dortmund & Norway
3rd: Cristiano Ronaldo - Manchester United & Portugal
Lionel Messi won his seventh Ballon d'Or award after a stellar 2021, winning both the Copa America and Copa Del Rey and contributing nine goals and 13 assists the second half of the year for his new, club Paris Saint-Germain.
Borussia Dortmund's Erling Haaland pipped Cristiano Ronaldo to second place, with the Norwegian striker scoring 20 goals and registering 6 assists in just 25 appearances from the start of the 2021/22 season.
Ballon d'Or top three in 2022
1st: Erling Haaland - Borussia Dortmund & Norway
2nd: Robert Lewandowski - Bayern Munich & Poland
3rd: Federico Chiesa - Juventus & Italy
Erling Haaland won his first Ballon d'Or award in 2022 after scoring 40 goals and registering 13 assists in just 47 appearances in all competitions. Haaland also led Norway to finish as shock runners-up in the 2022 World Cup, along with finishing second in the Bundesliga.
Robert Lewandowski finished second, with Federico Chiesa third in the voting for the 2022 Ballon d'Or after both players had impressive seasons for Bayern Munich and Juventus.
Ballon d'Or top three in 2023
1st: Erling Haaland - Liverpool & Norway
2nd: Mohamed Salah - Liverpool & Egypt
3rd: Kylian Mbappe - Manchester City & France
Haaland won his second Ballon d'Or in 2023, making it back-to-back awards and pipping new Liverpool teammate Mohamed Salah to first in the voting. The Norwegian striker scored 34 goals and registered 11 assists in all competitions for the Reds in his debut season.
Kylian Mbappe also switched clubs joining Man City from PSG, but could only finish third as Premier League players dominated the 2023 Ballon d'Or.
Ballon d'Or top three in 2024
1st: Kylian Mbappe - Manchester City & France
2nd: Mohamed Salah - Liverpool & Egypt
3rd: Kevin De Bruyne - Manchester City & Belgium
Mbappe stopped Haaland's dominance in the Ballon d'Or as the French striker finally claimed his first award after a superb season with City, scoring 28 goals and registering eight assists as they finished the Premier League season as centurion champions, as well as winning the Champions League with the club.
Mohamed Salah just missed out on the Ballon d'Or award for a second year in a row, as Mbappe's City teammate Kevin De Bruyne finished third in the voting process.
Ballon d'Or top three in 2025
1st: Kylian Mbappe - Manchester City & France
2nd: Mohamed Salah - Paris Saint-Germain & Egypt
3rd: Jamal Musiala - Manchester United & Germany
Mbappe matched Haaland in winning back-to-back Ballon d'Or awards after another stellar season for Man City in which he scored 37 goals and registered five assists in 56 appearances for the club, winning another Premier League title in the process.
Salah, for the third year running, finished second in the voting, despite moving from Liverpool to Mbappe's former club PSG. Wonderkid Jamal Musiala finished third in the voting after winning the Bundesliga with Bayern, scoring 22 goals and registering 18 assists in 60 appearances for the German club.
Ballon d'Or top three in 2026
1st: Pedri - Barcelona & Spain
2nd: Erling Haaland - Liverpool & Norway
3rd: Karim Adeyemi - Bayern Munich & Germany
Pedri won his first Ballon d'Or in 2026, pipping two-time winner Erling Haaland and becoming the first Barcelona player since Lionel Messi to win the award.
The Spanish midfielder scored 18 goals and registered 20 assists as Barcelona completed a famous quadruple before winning the UEFA Super Cup against Europa League holders, Liverpool.-
Karim Adeyemi came third in the voting after a stellar season for Bayern, scoring 24 and assisting 10 as Bayern won the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal, as well as finishing as runners-up in the Champions League.
Ballon d'Or top three in 2027
1st: Erling Haaland - Liverpool & Norway
2nd: Lautaro Martinez - Inter Milan & Argentina
3rd: Dusan Vlahovic - Inter Milan & Argentina
Erling Haaland won his third Ballon d'Or award in 2027, beating Inter Milan's attacking duo, Lautaro Martinez and Dusan Vlahovic, in the voting.
Haaland scored 31 goals and registered 10 assists for Liverpool in 2027 as the Reds won the Premier League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup in a historic treble-winning season.
Martinez scored 38 goals and registered four assists, whilst Vlahovic scored 31 goals and registered three assists, as they fired Inter Milan to the Serie A title, Coppa Italia and Europa League.
Ballon d'Or top three in 2028
1st: Francisco Trincao - Barcelona & Portugal
2nd: Kylian Mbappe - Manchester City & France
3rd: Phil Foden - Paris Saint-Germain & England
Francisco Trincao won the Ballon d'Or in 2028 becoming the first Portuguese player to win the award since Cristiano Ronaldo in 2017. Trincao scored 24 goals and registered 17 assists as he played a key part in Barcelona completing a domestic double and helping Portugal win the Euros.
Mbappe finished second in the voting after scoring 34 goals and registering five assists in 53 appearances for club and country, helping City win the FA Cup and Carabao Cup. Phil Foden, now at PSG, scored 27 goals and registered 14 assists in 52 appearances, helping the French outfit secure a domestic double and finish runners-up in the Champions League.
Ballon d'Or top three in 2029
1st: Erling Haaland - Liverpool & Norway
2nd: Karim Adeyemi - Bayern Munich & Germany
3rd: Kylian Mbappe - Manchester City & France
Haaland picked up his fourth Ballon d'Or award in 2029 after another sensational season for Liverpool, scoring 35 goals and registering 10 assists in 46 appearances for the Reds, helping the Merseyside club win the Premier League and Champions League.
Adeyemi pipped Mbappe to second in the voting, scoring 36 goals and registering 13 assists in 52 appearances for Bayern as they completed a domestic double and finished runners-up in the Champions League.
Mbappe's 21 goals and eight assists in 48 games was good enough for third-place in the voting, helping City win the FA Cup and finished second in the Premier League.
Ballon d'Or top three in 2030
1st: Erling Haaland - Liverpool & Norway
2nd: Phil Foden - Paris Saint-Germain & England
3rd: Francisco Trincao - Barcelona & Portugal
Haaland cemented his place in football history as one of the greatest strikers as he won his fifth Ballon d'Or in 10 years. The now 30-year-old striker, scored 31 goals and registered eight assists in 49 appearances for the Reds, as he fired them to another Premier League title, FA Cup, Carabao Cup and UEFA Super Cup, completing a famous quadruple.
Foden and Trincao finished second and third respectively after impressive seasons for club and country, but neither were able to come close to Haaland's exceptional performance.
Overall, Football Manager 2022 predicts that Erling Haaland will win five Ballon d'Or awards in the next decade, matching Cristiano Ronaldo's tally, and cement his place as one of the greatest footballers in the sport's history. At just 30-years-old, Haaland would just be two Ballon d'Or awards short of Lionel Messi's in-game record of seven.
Kylian Mbappe matched French legend, Michel Platini, in winning three Ballon d'Or awards, whilst Barcelona duo Trincao and Pedri would win one each to round out the next decade of Ballon d'Or winners.
Who do you think will win the Ballon d'Or this year? Let us know in the comments!
