Paris: Real Madrid star Karim Benzema has won the Ballon d’Or in a star-studded ceremony in Paris. On the counter-part, Spain’s Alexia Putellas won the women’s trophy.
After winning the award, “I had two role models in life: Zizou and Ronaldo. I’ve never lowered my efforts and I’ve kept the dream in my head, even through a period in which I was not in the national team.”
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“But I did not lower my efforts and it worked. It has been difficult and this only made me stronger mentally. I am satisfied with my work and I am very happy. I thank my teammates at Real Madrid and the national team.”
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The French international enjoyed a remarkable 2021-22 campaign at Real Madrid, with a stunning 44-goal season helping Los Blancos to win La Liga and Champions League titles. The 34-year-old found the target on 27 occasions in the Spanish league last season and 15 times in European competition.
Benzema has been a revelation for Madrid, helping to fill the void created by Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure in 2018 while also taking on captaincy duties following Sergio Ramos’ move to Paris Saint-Germain. He has now been recognized as the world’s best, beating the competition Mohamed Salah, Robert Lewandowski, Sadio Mane, Kylian Mbappe, and Erling Haaland to win the prestigious Golden Ball.
The Ballon d’Or vote has been dominated by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in recent times, with the Argentine claiming a history-making seven awards, while the Portuguese superstar has five to his name. Other iconic performers to have taken the top prize on multiple occasions include Michel Platini, Johan Cruyff, Marco van Basten, Franz Beckenbauer, Ronaldo Nazario, and Alfredo Di Stefano. Benzema has become the eighth Real Madrid player to land the award enhancing their record.
Benzema will also be hoping to help France win World Cup glory again at the 2022 finals in Qatar.
