The race for football's most coveted individual prize the Ballon d'Or is taking pace and big names are battling it out to bag the prize. Lionel Messi took the prize for the 7th time in 2021. The race to claim the 2022 prize is well and truly on despite all the controversy and criticism it generates. In March 2022, France Football announced changes in how the awarded will be awarded, and now it will be given based on the performance of the entire season rather than a calendar year. This means that the 2022 World Cup set to happen in November and December will not be considered this year but instead will be judged when the computation of the 2023 Ballon d'Or will be taken into account.

The prize should again reflect the best footballers throughout the season rather than those who lift the most silverware. With this in mind and with the defending champion Lionel Messi out to hunt for an 8th prize, we analyze who holds the most power in the race for this season's Ballon d'Or as it enters its final months. In fifth place is Paris Saint Germain's Kylian Mbappe. The French international is the Ligue 1 player of the year for the 3rd season consecutive year running and he has recently been rumored to be preparing himself to sign for Spanish capital giants Real Madrid. All eyes are on him, however,  to see whether he will choose to remain in PSG to defend his crown.
 

In fourth place is Robert Lewandowski. He rounded up his season with a 50th goal though he has been making headlines by his announcement that he will not be signing for another contract with Bayern Munich. He has never won the Ballon d'Or and some argue it is because he plies his trade at the Bundesliga which is not as competitive as the LaLiga and the Premier League. Liverpool's Mohamed Salah comes 3rd and he is currently the highest top scorer in the EPL. He however, suffered an injury in the first half of the FA Cup final and it is not known if he will be present in the Champions League final against Real Madrid. 

In second place is Sadio Mane, yet another Liverpool man and a renowned African player. Although he missed in the FA Cup penalty shootout, he played a vital role in helping his team reach the final match of the competition. Though trophies are not to be put into consideration, Mane has been amassing a number of them this season and that fact can not be ignored. In position one is Real Madrid's Karim Benzema who has been having a good couple of weeks recently the most notable time being helping the Los Blancos to reach the UCL finals following his stellar performance.