Real Madrid and France striker Karim Benzema etched his name into history as he won the 2022 Ballon d’Or award.
At a glittering ceremony in Paris’ Theatre Du Chatelet on Monday night, the Frenchman clinched football’s most prestigious award ahead of Bayern Munich’s Sadio Mane and Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne.
It’s deserved recognition for the 34-year-old after his tremendous form this calendar year. He played a big role in Madrid’s Champions League glory in May and has continued to impress during the 2022-23 campaign.
Speaking after winning the award, Benzema said: ‘To see this prize in front of me makes me really proud. It was a childhood dream for me and all the work I have done, I never gave up.
‘I always had in my mind that anything was possible, when I was not in the France team I never stopped working hard.
‘I am really proud of my journey here. It was not easy, it was a difficult time and also for my family as well. To be standing here today for the first time, I am happy for my work and will keep going.
He became the ninth Real Madrid player to claim the award since 2000 and just the fifth Frenchman to ever win the trophy.
The other players included in the top ten, in descending order, were Erling Haaland, Luka Modric, Vinicius Jr, Thibaut Courtois, Kylian Mbappe, Mohamed Salah and Robert Lewandowski.
2022 BALLON D’OR TOP 30 RANKINGS
25= Darwin Núñez, Christopher Nkunku, Joao Cancelo, Antonio Rudiger, Mike Maignan, Joshua Kimmich
22= Phil Foden, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Bernardo Silva
21. Harry Kane
20. Cristiano Ronaldo
17= Luis Diaz, Dusan Vlahovic, Casemiro
16. Virgil van Dijk
14= Fabinho, Rafael Leao
13. Sebastian Haller
12. Riyad Mahrez
11. Son Heung-min
10. Erling Haaland
9. Luka Modric
8. Vinicius Jr
7. Thibaut Courtois
6. Kylian Mbappe
5. Mohamed Salah
4. Robert Lewandowski
3. Kevin De Bruyne
2. Sadio Mane
1. Karim Benzema
Sources: Mail sports
