Karim Benzema on top of the world and among the greatest.
The new Ballon d'Or winner crushed the competition by obtaining the first vote from 89 of the 93 journalists on the jury, for a total of points only exceeded by Cristiano Ronaldo in 2016. 356 votes separated Benzema from his dolphin Sadio Mané where 429 separated CR7 from Messi
Among the four countries not to have voted for the French striker in first place are Slovenia (who opted for De Bruyne), Egypt, the Netherlands (Mohamed Salah for both) and the Senegal (for Sadio Mané).
The former Reds striker now at Bayern Munich was ranked 2nd in no less than 28 countries.
Zero points for CR7
Note that Cristiano Ronaldo, 20th, is the first player ranked among those to have collected no points.
Even in Portugal, the point for 5th place instead went to Rafael Leão.
With Lionel Messi out of competition, it may be a page that turns definitively.
If we had been told that a few years ago...
Sport
Real Madrid: Karim Benzema celebrates his Golden Ball with a goal and a victory against Elche
Sport
Golden ball: In front of Platini, behind Zidane, where to classify Benzema in the pantheon of French players?
Sport
Karim Benzema
Cristiano Ronaldo
Ballon d'Or
Soccer