Leo Messi plays his seventh Ballon d'Or

 The Argentine, great favorite to win the award today

El glamor football returns to Paris two years later, after the break caused by the pandemic in 2020. The event, in the downtown Theater du Chatelet , will bring together the best of the world of football around the Golden Ball in male and female versions, as well as the best goalkeeper and best young player. Voting closed on November 24 and this Monday at the edge of nine o'clock at night all the unknowns will be cleared.

The fight to be the best (many voices point to the Argentine, who will receive his eighth Pichichi from the hands of MARCA this Monday, as the winner) is centered on Leo Messi and Robert Lewandowski ('moral' winner of that deserted edition of 2020), with Karim Benzema in third place, but he already knows that the award will not be for him.

Messi aims for the winner, in what would be his seventh Ballon d'Or , leaving Cristiano Ronaldo behind with five. Portuguese does not appear in any of the pools. Gerard Moreno, César Azpilicueta and Pedri are the Spaniards who appear in the list of applicants for the most coveted prize on the planet football.

Ballon d'Or election process

How are the candidates and the winner chosen? The editorial staff of 'France Football' proposes the 30 candidates for the award, who are voted for by the 180 selected journalists , who choose a total of five players. In this way, 6, 4, 3, 2 and 1 point are distributed to those five chosen. Fifty specialized journalists will choose the best player on the planet . The list for best youngster, the Kopa Trophy , and best goalkeeper, the Yashin Trophy , are 10 in each award.

Merits to win the Ballon d'Or

When the day of the award ceremony arrives and during the previous months, the merits to reach the Ballon d'Or are debated . Which are? It starts, of course, with the level of play shown during the season , taking into account statistics such as goals scored, assists and also the level shown by his team and by the player within the team, at leadership levels.

Second, the titles obtained and the importance that has been had in those conquests are valued . Titles enter at the club level and also at the national level, chapters the latter that is usually final, as can happen in this edition with Messi and the Copa América . The player's own public image, both on and off the pitch, is also taken into account. And then there are two intangibles such as personal appreciation and the marketing that surrounds the players . The debate will continue after the delivery of a subjective award to the maximum. It is inevitable .

In addition to the prize itself, the Other's Ball changes the life of the winner. Many players include it in their contracts as one of the reasons for extra pay. Being crowned in Paris raises the price of the footballer, changes his life completely.

Nominated for the women's Ballon d'Or

Alexia Putellas is the great favorite to win the women's Ballon d'Or , which would make the Barcelona player the first Spanish footballer to win the award and the second Spanish, after Luis Suárez in 1960. The complete list of nominees are: Sandra Paños, Alexia Putellas, Irene Paredes, Jenni Hermoso and Lieke Martens (Barcelona), Kadidiatou Diani (PSG), Fran Kirby (Chelsea), Christiane Endler (PSG, OL), Christine Sinclair (Thorns FC), Ashley Lawrence ( PSG), Jessie Fleming (Chelsea), Viviane Miedema (Arsenal), Ellen White(Manchester City), Pernille Harder (Chelsea), Samantha Mewis (North Carolina Courage), Wendie Renard (OL), Marie-Antoinette Katoto (PSG), Stina Blackstenius (Häcken), Magdalena Eriksson (Chelsea) and Sam Kerr (Chelsea) .

The list of goalkeepers who compete for the best goalkeepers award are: Keylor Navas and Donnarumma (PSG), Emiliano Martínez (Aston Villa), Neuer (Bayern Munich), Jan Oblak (Atlético de Madrid), Handanovic (Inter Milan), Ederson (Manchester City), Kasper Schmeichel (Leicester City), Mendy (Chelsea) and Courtois (Real Madrid).

Pedri is the big favorite in the Kopa award. The candidates are Greenwood (Manchester United), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Pedri (Barcelona), Doku (Stade Rennais), Gravenberch (Ajax), Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich), Florian Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen), Bellingham and Reyna (Borussia Dortmund) and Nuno Mendes (PSG).