Sstriker star 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 on Monday in Paris and won the vote ahead of Bayern striker Sadio Mané and Belgian Kevin De Bruyne from Manchester City. 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.
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 rupture 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 premier class in the knockout stages – starting with three 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 semifinals, Manchester City scored three more goals with a penalty in extra time to reach the final.
Star striker Sadio Mané from German soccer champions FC Bayern Munich was presented with the Socrates Award for his social commitment at the awards ceremony. The Senegalese was honored for his projects at home. “I don’t like to talk about it. I’m doing as much as I can for my people,” Mané said.
His Bayern team-mate Jamal Musiala from FC Bayern, on the other hand, missed the award for the best U21 player, as did the English Bundesliga professional Jude Bellingham from Borussia Dortmund. Although the two youngsters were among the five players nominated for the Kopa Award on Monday, they ended up taking third and fourth place. The award went to FC Barcelona’s Gavi of Spain ahead of Real Madrid’s Eduardo Camavinga of France.
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”.
