France and Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema has won the men’s Ballon d’Or for the first time in his career after a stellar season with Real Madrid in which the Spanish giant won La Liga and Uefa Champions League.
Benzema was presented with the award for best men’s footballer in the world on Monday night in Paris after another record-breaking season for club and country.
KARIM BENZEMA IS THE 2022 BALLON D’OR! ✨@Benzema@realmadrid#ballondor pic.twitter.com/TXLkHJIhJM
— Ballon d’Or #ballondor (@francefootball) October 17, 2022
Benzema has won the men’s award for the first time after leading Real Madrid to the Spanish title and their 14th European Cup. The 34-year-old striker scored 27 goals in La Liga and was also the top scorer in the Champions League with 15. Ten of those goals came in the knockout stages, including hat-tricks against Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea.
Karim Benzema’s 2021/22 for club & country:
◉ 56 games
◉ 50 goals
◉ 16 assists
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???? UEFA Men’s Player of the Year
???? UCL Player of the Season
???? UCL Golden Boot
???? Pichichi Trophy
???? Ballon d’Or#BallondOr pic.twitter.com/EccsGpMF9F— Squawka (@Squawka) October 17, 2022
After receiving a huge ovation from the crowd, Benzema said: “this prize in front of me makes me really proud. I never gave up, it was a childhood dream. There was a difficult period where I wasn’t in the France team, but I kept working hard. I kept in my head this joy of playing football; I’m really proud of my journey here.”
Women’s Ballon d’Or
Barcelona’s Alexia Putellas retains her title as the world’s best women’s player after leading Barcelona to another Spanish title, scoring 18 goals in the process. Barça won all 30 of their league games and also won the Spanish Cup and Super Cup, but lost the Women’s Champions League final to Lyon and missed the Euros after suffering an ACL injury.
The speech of Alexia Putellas, the back-to-back Women’s Ballon d’Or winner ????#ballondor pic.twitter.com/o11kze5yoZ
— Ballon d’Or #ballondor (@francefootball) October 17, 2022
“I’m very happy to be back here,” Putellas said. “Winning last year pushed me to want to be even better. Without my teammates, this wouldn’t have been possible. I want to thank the coaches and technical staff who help me to improve every day.”
Alexia scored 34 goals and gave 21 assists in 43 games for Barcelona, finishing as the top scorer in the Champions League with 11, and third in La Liga with 18 goals. She led the assists in the league with 17 and added two in the Champions League.
Courtois wins Yashin Trophy
Courtois was Real Madrid’s hero in the Champions League final against Liverpool, as well as making countless important saves en route to winning LaLiga Santander last season.
His exploits have justifiably earned him the award for the best goalkeeper, the Yashin Trophy.
Gavi wins Kopa trophy
Barcelona’s teenage sensation Gavi has won the Kopa trophy, handed to the best youngster in the game of the last season. He’s made huge strides with club and country.
