Bayern star goes empty handed
Karim Benzema wins the Ballon d’Or
10/17/2022 9:56 p.m
Karim Benzema wins the Champions League with Real Madrid, becomes top scorer in the most important European club competition, and the French striker also dominates in the Spanish league. That’s why there’s no getting around him when it comes to the Ballon d’Or.
Karim Benzema has been awarded the prestigious Ballon d’Or for the year 2022 for the first time. The goalscorer from Champions League winners Real Madrid received the honor in Paris and won the vote ahead of Bayern striker Sadio Mané and Belgian Kevin De Bruyne from Manchester City. Mané had previously received the new Socrates Award. This honors players who are strongly committed to social issues
Last year, Lionel Messi won ahead of Bundesliga top scorer Robert Lewandowski, which caused great criticism internationally. As in the previous year, the Pole, who now plays for FC Barcelona, was awarded the Gerd Müller trophy for the best scorer. The former FC Bayern and Borussia Dortmund professional took fourth place in the Ballon d’Or election.
In the women’s category, Alexia Putellas from Spain again received the Golden Ball. The exceptional footballer is currently on a break due to a cruciate ligament tear that she sustained shortly before the European Championships in the summer. The two German internationals Lena Oberdorf and Alexandra Popp took fourth and sixth place.
Benzema had towered over Real’s premier class triumph last season. The Frenchman scored ten of his 15 goals in the Champions League in the knockout stages – starting with the hat-trick in the round of 16 against Paris Saint-Germain. In the quarter-final second leg against Chelsea, the Frenchman secured progress with his goal in extra time. In the semi-finals, Manchester City again scored three goals with a penalty in extra time to reach the final.
Courtois wins goalkeeper award
“A dream has come true. It was always about enjoying football. My work has paid off,” said Benzema, who scored 44 goals in 46 competitive games for Real last season. Former Dortmund player Erling Haaland, who has been chasing goals for ManCity since the summer, finished tenth. His designated successor at BVB, the Ivorian Sebastien Haller, who was suffering from testicular cancer, followed three places behind. The former permanent winners, on the other hand, only played a minor role – or none at all: Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo was 20th, “title defender” and record winner Lionel Messi (Argentina / Paris St. Germain) was not even among the top 30 after seven awards this year.
German internationals Antonio Rüdiger (Chelsea FC/Real Madrid) and Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich) shared 25th place, as did Germany’s current Footballer of the Year, Frenchman Christopher Nkunku (RB Leipzig). The Kopa Trophy for the best U21 player went to Spain’s Gavi from FC Barcelona, international Jamal Musiala from FC Bayern was third and Jude Bellingham from Borussia Dortmund fourth. The Belgian national goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois from Real Madrid cleared the goalkeeper choice (Yashin trophy).
The Ballon d’Or is not a substitute for the world footballer’s choice. This election will continue to be organized by the world governing body FIFA. From 2010 to 2015, the world footballer was awarded the Golden Ball through a cooperation between FIFA and “France Football”.