Unsurprisingly, Karim Benzema won the Ballon d’Or from France Football magazine for the first time yesterday, honoring the best footballer in the world from last season. The Real Madrid and France forward, who scored 49 goals in 53 official games in 2021-22 and helped his team win the Champions League and the Spanish League, in addition to winning the Nations League for his national team.
“It’s a pride and a childhood dream. Since I was little I worked to become a footballer and I had the motivation in my idols Zidane and Ronaldo. It was hard for me and my whole family, especially when I was out of the national team , but it was worth it. It’s a Ballon d’Or, which for me is a collective award,” said Karim Benzema, who is just over two months away from turning 35. Thus he became the second oldest ever to win this award, surpassed only by Englishman Stanley Matthews, who was 41 years old in 1956, in the first edition. In addition, he became the fifth French player to distinguish himself, after Raymond Kopa, Michel Platini (three), Jean-Pierre Papin and Zinedine Zidane.
KARIM BENZEMA IS THE BALLOON D’OR 2022!@Benzema@Real Madrid#balloondor pic.twitter.com/TXLkHJIhJM
– Ballon d’Or #ballondor (@francefootball) October 17, 2022
The French attacker relegated Senegalese Sadio Mané (Liverpool and Bayern Munich) to second place, Belgian Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City) to third and Pole Robert Lewandowski to fourth. Incidentally, the player who left Bayern Munich for Barcelona in the summer did not go home empty-handed, as he won the Gerd Müller Prize, intended for the best goalscorer of the season.
Surprisingly, Manchester City were named the best team of the year, beating Liverpool, who came in second, and European champions Real Madrid, who came in third. The Merengues still had a great night with Thibaut Courtois winning the Yashin trophy, earmarked for the best goalkeeper in the world, as well as their 12th player to win the Ballon d’Or, after Cristiano Ronaldo’s four, Alfredo Di Stéfano, one for Raymond Kopa, Luis Figo, Ronaldo, Fabio Cannavaro, Luka Modric and now Benzema.
Rafael Leão, the best Portuguese
Rafael Leão was the Portuguese highest ranked in the list of 30 finalists for the Ballon d’Or. The AC Milan attacker, considered the best player in Italy’s Serie A last season, was in 14th place, surpassing Cristiano Ronaldo, who was always the best Portuguese player for 16 seasons.
This time, the Manchester United attacker was in 20th place, ahead of the City duo: Bernardo Silva, 22nd and João Cancelo, 25th.
Reference is also made to two players who played last season in Portugal and who now represent Liverpool: Colombian Luis Díaz, who left FC Porto in January, was in 17th place, while Uruguayan Darwin Núñez, who shone for Benfica in the Champions League League, was in position 25, equal to João Cancelo.
As for the other prizes awarded by France Football, Spain’s Alexia Putellas, from Barcelona, has won the Ballon d’Or in women’s football for the second time in a row. For Barcelona, it was even the Kopa trophy for the best under-21 player in the world, awarded to Spanish midfielder Gavi, with Nuno Mendes (PSG) in fifth place.
It should also be noted that forward Sadio Mane has been awarded the Sócrates Prize for the way he has contributed to the development of his country, Senegal.
Source: DN
