Your votes have been counted and we can now confirm the overall winner of the men's GOAL50 2022!

GOAL50 is an annual award that gives fans the power to rank the 50 best footballers in the world over the previous 12 months.

This year GOAL50 featured three categories of players to vote on. In addition to the Men and Women categories, we added a special once-off World Cup Wonders category to pay tribute to the tournament legends of the past.

GOAL50 employs a unique voting system that sees fans voting on a series of head-to-head clashes between players in each category.

There were 2,450 possible player match-ups in each category, and the players with the most victories have now been crowned the GOAL50 2022 winners.

Here are the final standings, and the overall winner, of the Men's GOAL50 2022!

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  1Lionel Messi – PSG & Argentina

  The years roll on but Messi's class and his place among the best players on the planet have never been in question. He registred double figures for goals and assists in Ligue 1 last term, winning the title in the process, and lit up the World Cup with the kind of genius that convince many he's the greatest to ever touch a football.

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  2Neymar – PSG & Brazil

  At 30, Neymar remains one of the planet's most breathtaking talents, with his ability to beat opponents, flummox defenders with his twinkle toes, or make decisive contributions in the final third ensuring he's received heavy backing from GOAL50 voters. The Brazil superstar has already had a hand in 20 goals in 14 Ligue 1 games this season.

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  3Erling Haaland – Manchester City & Norway

  Haaland's impact in the Premier League since signing for Manchester City for a bargain £51 million in the summer has been frightening, with the 22-year-old already striking 18 league goals in 13 league games including three hat-tricks. Expect Haaland to continue terrorising Prem defences in 2023.

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  4Karim Benzema – Real Madrid & France

  Benzema's exploits with Real Madrid last season earned the 34-year-old a Ballon d'Or—the award's oldest winner since 1954 – with a 17-minute hat-trick against Paris Saint-Germain en route to the Champions League title being one of several highlights. Injury cost the veteran the chance to spearhead France's World Cup campaign.