𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆: Ballon d'Or 2022 shortlist reveal as Messi was left out for the first time since 2005

The Ballon d'Or is back and for the first time, it is being judged on the course of a season rather than a calendar year - hooray for common sense!

With usual winners Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo unlikely to take home the gold again, we could see a new king crowned come the autumn.

Final nominees named; Lionel Messi not on shortlist

We have our final five nominees and even though there's a spot for Kylian Mbappe, there isn't one for either Lionel Messi or Neymar.

Dusan Vlahovic - Fiorentina/Juventus

Virgil van Dijk - Liverpool

Joao Cancelo - Manchester City

Kylian Mbappe - Paris Saint-Germain

Erling Haaland - Borussia Dortmund/Manchester City

Sebastien Haller - Ajax/Borussia Dortmund

Luka Modric - Real Madrid

Antonio Rudiger - Chelsea/Real Madrid

Cristiano Ronaldo - Manchester United

Kevin De Bruyne - Manchester City

19:19 - Fourth group of nominees unveiled

France Football have released their fourth group of nominees. These ones are bound to divide opinion.

Mike Maignan - AC Milan

Harry Kane - Tottenham Hotspur

Darwin Nunez - Benfica/Liverpool

Phil Foden - Manchester City

Sadio Mane - Liverpool/Bayern Munich

19:10 - More nominations revealed

We are now up to 15 nominees - here are the most recent five on the shortlist:

Riyad Mahrez - Manchester City

Casemiro - Real Madrid

Son Heung-min - Tottenham Hotspur

Fabinho - Liverpool

Karim Benzema - Real Madrid

Second batch of nominees

Our second group of nominees are here!

Trent Alexander-Arnold - Liverpool

Vinicius Junior - Real Madrid

Bernardo Silva - Manchester City

Luis Diaz - Porto/Liverpool

Robert Lewandowski - Bayern Munich/Barcelona

18:49 - First five nominees

Our first nominees are in!

Here are the first five players who have made the 30-player shortlist...

Thibaut Courtois - Real Madrid

Rafael Leao - AC Milan

Christopher Nkunku - RB Leipzig

Mohamed Salah - Liverpool

Joshua Kimmich - Bayern Munich

Other award shortlists

Still waiting for France Football to start releasing the list of Ballon d'Or nominations

However, they have confirmed their 10-player shortlists for the Yachine Trophy and Kopa Trophy, as well as their 20-person shortlist for the Ballon d'Or Feminine.