Real Madrid star Karim Benzema was crowned the 2022 Ballon d'Or, becoming the first Frenchman to win the prestigious award given by France Football magazine since Zinedine Zidane, who won the award nearly a quarter of a century ago.

Benzema won the race with a clear superiority over his closest competitor, after his impressive performances last season and his contribution to Real Madrid's crowning of the Spanish League and Champions League titles.

The 34-year-old scored 44 goals in 46 games in all competitions last season with the Royal Club, including 15 in the Champions League.

The Algerian asset presented extraordinary levels in front of the strongest teams in the Champions League, recording a hat-trick against Paris Saint-Germain within 17 minutes in the second half in the second leg of the final price, and Chelsea in England in the first leg of the quarter-finals.

He also scored 3 goals in the two semi-final matches against Manchester City, to lead Real Madrid to the final, in which they beat Liverpool.

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Ranking of the top ten players in the Ballon d'Or award

  • Karim Benzema, Real Madrid player

  • Robert Lewandowski, Barcelona player

  • Kevin De Bruyne, Manchester City player

  • Sadio Mane, Bayern Munich player

  • Mohamed Salah, Liverpool player

  • Kylian Mbappe, Paris Saint-Germain player

  • Thibaut Courtois, goalkeeper for Real Madrid

  • Vinicius Junior, Real Madrid player

  • Luka Modric, Real Madrid player

  • Erling Haaland, Manchester City player

    • The best period in Benzema's career

    Benzema included the Golden Ball award for the best player in Europe presented by the European Union for the game (UEFA), which he received last August, to confirm that the royal club's top scorer is in the best periods of his career about a month before the World Cup.

    Benzema became the fifth French player to win the Ballon d'Or, after Raymond Kopa (1958), Michel Platini (1983, 1984, 1985), Jean-Pierre Papin (1991) and Zidane (1998).

    Previously, the award was given depending on the player's performance throughout the year.

    But the system has changed, and the evaluation is now based on what the player offers during the season.

    Ballon d'Or Awards 2022

    On the other hand, the Monday ceremony witnessed the awarding of the following awards:

    • Barcelona's Gavi wins the Cuban Best Young Player award

    • Sadio Mane of Bayern Munich wins the award of the Brazilian legend Socrates for commitment to charitable work

    • Barcelona's Alexia BotĂ­as won the Ballon d'Or for the best female player in the world

    • FC Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski wins Gerd Muller Award for Best Striker

    • Thibaut Courtois from Real Madrid wins the Yashin Award for best goalkeeper

    • Manchester City crowned the best team in the world