We have finally found out who has won the 2022 Ballon D'or and to be honest looking at the rankings overall I have to say there are a fair few questionable positions with some players definitely deserving a lot more in the final rankings of this year's awards. The talent in the women's game is improving massively year on year so I definitely feel sorry for those on the awards panels, narrowing down a top 20 each year must be getting more and more difficult, although a lot of players do seem to get nominated no matter what their season has been like, is it just because they are big names, and they are scared of leaving them out? Who knows. So here is how the ranking for the 2022 looks...
In 20th place we have French star Diani, who is a player that I didn't know much about until the Euro's in the summer. Diani really stood out as a key player for the French side and it looks like that is the case at PSG where she plays her club football, I have a feeling we will be seeing her name on a lot of awards nomination lists in the future if she keeps playing like she has in 2022. Rolfo is one of the big reasons I had Sweden as my second team this summer and why I started trying to watch more Barcelona games. Rolfo is a fantastic quality of player and to be honest I thought she would be a bit higher up in the rankings this time around, no doubt if she is nominated again next year we could see her positioning change and maybe be a bit higher than this year as she is a key player.
Trinity Rodman is a USA player who definitely looks threatening. At just 20 years old I think we need to get used to seeing Rodman nominated for awards. She was the youngest drafted player at the age of 18 and her quality in play shows exactly why Washington Spirit made such a good decision drafting her, I do believe this is just the beginning for Rodman and her becoming a household name. Katoto had a brilliant season for PSG and really made a case for why she should be representing France in the summer's Euro's, then unfortunately during the tournament she found herself injured and on the long term injury list which I am hoping is she can bounce back from as at 23 year I think we are yet to see her full potential. Oshoala is a player that has been at a fair few clubs in her career however, Barcelona seem to have got the best out of her and we are seeing her start to get the recognition she deserves. Since joining Barcelona in 2019 she has definitely got plenty of goals under her belt and doesn't seem to be slowing down, I definitely think Oshoala is a player that deserves a high ranking in this year's awards.
It is so good to see Millie Bright finally getting the recognition she deserves but at the same time I definitely think she could have placed higher in this years awards. Bright is an integral part of the Chelsea defence and we have seen her putting in fantastic performances for plenty of seasons now yet she is only just getting noticed by judging panels, I am hoping this is just the start of Bright getting the nominations she deserves as I don't see her performances slowing down for Chelsea anytime soon. When it comes to Bacha it is quite scary to think she is only 21-year-old. At 21-year-old she is having a fantastic career so far and is certainly a key player for Lyon. For me Bacha definitely has the potential to become one of the left backs in the world and with her young age I can imagine we will be seeing her name on a lot of nomination lists in the future and scarily I don't even think we have seen her full potential yet.
For the past few years I will be honest I haven't agreed with Alex Morgan being nominated for awards like this as I don't think she has been at her best however, since moving to San Diego Wave she has really started looking like the Alex Morgan we have been used to seeing previously. She really has been a key player for San Diego in their inaugural season and I think we are starting to see an Alex Morgan who is back in fine form. Endler is a player that really stood out to me when watching Chile play in the World Cup back in 2019 and since then she has really impressed me, does she really deserve the 12th place spot though? I really aren't sure as I think there have been better goalkeepers at clubs around the globe this year, Mary Earps is just one suggestion, but I guess by playing at Lyon Endler has all eyes on her. Don't get me wrong she is a good 'keeper however, I am not sure about this one this time around. I am really shocked that Miedema hasn't ranked higher in the 2022 awards as once again she has been a standout player for Arsenal and was key for them gaining a Champions League spot this season. She still scores for the fun of it and helps in the build up play for Arsenal too. She really does play a big part in the Arsenal set up and to be honest I keep forgetting she is only 26 years old, she seems to have achieved so much already.
Lucy Bronze has found herself 10th in this year's award ranking and to be honest it is nice to see her in the top 10. Bronze had a good season once again for Man City last season and really showed us all why she is one of the best right backs in the world. Her move to Barcelona in the summer just goes to sow the quality of player she is and what she can bring to teams in a variety of leagues. I am definitely going to miss seeing Bronze in the WSL again. 23 year old USA Macario is really getting her professional career underway and is making a name for herself at Lyon. She is no stranger to award nominations as she won plenty during her time at Stanford, I think we are going to see plenty more nominations for her during her professional career too as she has ranked 9th in the Ballon D'or whilst still being fairly new to the pro game.
Renard has been a key player for Lyon for a long time now but honestly I think I would have swapped her and Bright around in this years award placing. I don't know why but watching Renard play this past year just hasn't seemed to be a scratch on the Renard we are used to seeing. Yes she has a good season once again but I do believe a few other players in the same position as her have had much better seasons. Hegerberg is another player who seems to have been on awards lists for a long time now and I can't see the 27 year old disappearing from the list anytime soon either. She is doing fantastic still at Lyon and shows no sign of slowing down, I do think she should have placed a bit lower this time around though as I think some others have had a better season than her. Popp actually spent most of the season out with a serious injury however, when she came back she had an absolutely fantastic season. She stood out that much she managed to break into Germany's very strong Euro side in the summer. Popp is one of those names that has been around for a while now and is a player that has stood out to us for many years now. To say the injury she suffered that kept her out for most of the season I am surprised she had the season she did and to be honest at 31 year old she doesn't seem to be slowing down, I think we will be seeing her name on plenty more awards lists for a few more years yet.
24 year old Bonmati is really making a name for herself as part of the amazing Barcelona team we are seeing these days and the midfielder has been a key part of their success. I love her style of play and how she can move the ball around so well and get Barcelona into some dangerous attacks. She is another player that made me more interested in watching the Spanish league and I am really looking forward to seeing her continue developing as a top player, she definitely deserves this top 5 finish and I think we need to get used to seeing her as a top contender in these awards. Lena Oberdorf might only be 20 years old but she is a player we are keeping a close eye on as she is already one of those standout players. She was amazing at the Euros but she has also been absolutely fantastic at Wolsfburg since joining in 2020, she is such a versatile player who is able to play midfield, defensive midfield and even centre back, her vision on the ball is fantastic and she isn't afraid of putting a challenge in. To think she is only 20 year old is again quite scary as we are yet to see her full potential, I think Oberdorf is another name we need to get used to seeing on these award lists as if she continues the way she is at the moment we could see her become a real household name in the near future.
Sam Kerr is always floating around on the awards lists these days and I don't think that is going to change any time soon. However, I don't think this year's 3rd place finish is where she should be, I think some other nominated players have had much stronger campaigns, but I guess with how popular the player is more of the voters will have focused on her over other names, like we have seen happen in the past. Don't get me wrong Kerr has had a good season with Chelsea but how she placed above Oberdorf has me scratching my head a little. Beth Mead's revenge season after being left out of the Olympics went amazingly well and we have seen her have her best season in an Arsenal shirt and we are now also seeing her finally get the recognition she deserves with being nominated for various awards. I do think she was robbed this year though with a second place finish, the growth we have seen from her this year certainly deserves a 1st place finish and she really was an integral part of helping Arsenal gain Champions League football this year whilst pushing for the top spot. I think we are starting to see the best from Mead so fingers crossed the recognition continues and we see her being nominated for and winning a lot more awards in the future. If she played for Barcelona or Lyon would she have won it with no questions asked? Well I think she would have stood a better chance.
This years Ballon D'or winner is Barcelona star Alexia Putellas. She is the first female Ballon D'or back to back winner and to be honest she has had another great season at Barcelona but do I think Mead should have won it? Of course I do. Putellas has really made a name for herself these past few seasons and has really made herself a household name which she rightly should be with the quality of play she possesses. Unfortunately due to the injury she picked up on the eve of Euro 2022 she is now ruled out for most of, if not all of this season so I don't think we will on many awards lists next year but I am sure once she returns from injury fully she is going to be back making an impact for club and country whilst winning plenty more awards in the process.
So there you go that is how this years female Ballon D'or was ranked, as I have said a few times during this post there are a few decisions that I don't quite agree with but I think we do need to get used to seeing these players on the awards lists as they are certainly the stand out names in the women's game at the moment. The women's game is definitely growing and these awards must be getting harder and harder to narrow down so I am very glad I am not a part of the judging panel, how are you meant to rank these names?
I wonder if in next years nominations we will see new names enter or if we are going to see a nomination list the same as this one? With the talent in the game constantly growing it is hard to take a guess. Do you agree with this years rankings or would you change some around too?
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