The French newspaper L'Equipe confirmed that Real Madrid's top scorer Karim Benzema is top of the list of candidates to win the 2022 Ballon d'Or, but in light of competition that may not be underestimated by Sadio Mane and Lewandowski.
The newspaper pointed out that its information is confirmed by its close proximity to France Football magazine, which organizes and awards the award annually.
L'Equipe said that there are 3 fundamental reasons why Benzema, 34, topped the list of candidates, as follows:
First: He scored a hat-trick in the Champions League final price tag in Real Madrid's 3-1 victory over Paris Saint-Germain;
In addition to another triple in the first leg of the quarter-finals in a win by the same result against Chelsea last Wednesday.
Second: Benzema scored 24 goals, which made him the top scorer in the League, meaning that he is on the verge of winning his first trophy in the Pichichi Prize;
Awarded to the top scorer of the League.
Third: Benzema played a major role in the French national team's title in the European Nations League 2021 last October, and scored 5 goals for the team since last September.
Former French star Jean-Pierre Papin, who won the Ballon d'Or in 1991, confirmed that Benzema should be the winner.
This will be the fourth French Golden Ball after Cuba, Platini and Papin himself.
The praises of Benzema do not stop this season because of his great brilliance, including the words of Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti: “Karim is the perfect representation of what a central attacker should be today. He is an example of what modern football requires from a striker in terms of shooting, playing, participating in defensively, Keep the ball.
The next Golden Ball will be delivered next October, before the World Cup, according to the new system that is applied for the first time this year, which is based on giving the award to the best player in the full season (from July to June) and not according to calendar years. As it was followed.
Of course, Benzema is not the only candidate;
The player who leads his team to crown the Champions League will certainly be the winner of the Ballon d'Or, and his main rival Robert Lewandowski will be Bayern Munich's top scorer if Bayern Munich are not eliminated by Villarreal on Tuesday.
Sadio Mane, the star of the Liverpool team, is also a strong competitor to Benzema, as L'Equipe notes that the Senegalese captain recently won the African Nations Cup for the first time in his country's history, and also played a decisive role in his country's qualification for the World Cup in Qatar at the expense of Egypt.
The newspaper said that if Mane wins the Premier League title, the FA Cup and the Champions League, things will become very difficult for Benzema, especially since Mane has already won the Carabao (English League Cup) title this season.