At the Theatre Du Chatelet in Paris on Monday night, Karim Mostafa Benzema of Real Madrid was chosen as the 2022 top-performing player in the world.
He is the ninth (9th) player at Real Madrid to win the Ballon d’Or trophy, the last player at Madrid to win this ultimate trophy was Luka Modrić in 2018.
Real Madrid was well represented in an expedition led by President Florentino Pérez, and the club is still in high spirits after thrashing Barcelona in the El Clasico.
Benzema defeated Mané, De Bruyne, and Lewandowski (in that order) in an election that included 180 international journalists. The voters decided who should win based on each player’s achievements throughout the 2021–2022 season.
Karim Benzema, the White Angels’ talisman, will be 35 on December 19, 2022, the day after the World Cup final, making him the oldest winner of the Ballon d’Or since Stanley Matthews in 1956.
The former Lyon striker is also the fifth Frenchman to win the award, with Raymond Kopa, Michel Platini, and Jean-Pierre Papin all winning before Zidane in 1998.
Benzema is the next French player to receive this premium trophy after Zidane, and coincidentally, at the ceremony in Paris last Monday night, he presented the trophy to the current winner.
Other players from Real Madrid included in the top ten, in descending order, were Luka Modrić, Vinicius Jr, and Thibaut Courtois, who were all present for the occasion.
“It was a dream I had as a child and I always had this award in my mind. I was motivated to win it because of two of my idols: Zidane and Ronaldo. It’s an award that every footballer has in mind. It’s very tough to win it, but not impossible. I don’t only think about scoring goals, but about having fun out on the pitch and helping my teammates.” Benzema said after Zidane presented the 2022 Best FIFA Men’s Player.
