According to reports in Spain, Karim Benzema has been selected as the 2022 Ballon d’Or winner.
The 34-year-old Frenchman, who helped Real Madrid win the Champions League and LaLiga last season, was in the best shape of his life.
In an interview with Vamos before the event, FC Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski who is also a major contender for the award predicted that Benzema will win the Ballon d’Or “assuming they don’t cancel it.”
Karim Benzema Tipped To Be The 2022 Ballon D’or Winner
Even though the 2022 Ballon d’Or event isn’t until Monday night, the major award winners have already been “leaked.”
The 2022 Ballon d’Or ceremony is scheduled to take place in Paris, France on 17 October 2022 at 7:30 pm WAT.
The 30-player shortlist, which includes several Premier League players, was first revealed back in August.
Based on the leaked details of the award, French striker Karim Benzema won the prized accolade over Sadio Mane of Bayern Munich and Polish superstar Robert Lewandowski on Sunday after scoring in Real Madrid’s 3-1 El Clasico victory over Barcelona.
After a challenging first season at Paris Saint-Germain, Lionel Messi was not included on the shortlist for the first time since 2005.
Players from Liverpool and Manchester City dominated the list, with names like Kevin De Bruyne, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Phil Foden, Riyad Mahrez, and Mohamed Salah all appearing.
While four English top-flight goalkeepers are on the list for the Yashin Trophy, Bukayo Saka was the only Premier League player to receive a nomination for the renowned Kopa Trophy award. Last year, Messi won the Ballon d’Or for the seventh time in his career, surpassing Cristiano Ronaldo (5) in the process.
Outside of Messi and Ronaldo, Luka Modric is the only player to have won the Ballon d’Or in the previous 13 awards shows. Karim Benzema, who is the overwhelming favorite to win the 2022 award, is expected to change that this year.
Additionally, it has already been “leaked” that Karim Benzema will be this year’s Ballon d’Or winner.
According to the Spanish publication Marca, Benzema will defeat stiff competition from Robert Lewandowski, Sadio Mane, and Kylian Mbappe.
Real Madrid’s amazing Champions League victory last year was greatly aided by Benzema. In just 12 games, he scored an incredible 15 goals, including hat-tricks against Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain.
His goals also contributed to Real’s second La Liga championship in three years. Thibaut Courtois, Benzema’s Real Madrid teammate, will allegedly also be crowned the Yashin Trophy winner.
After making numerous great saves during the victory over Liverpool in the Champions League final, the Belgian goalie was voted player of the match. The Kopa Trophy is expected to be awarded to Barcelona starlet Gavi, making it a clean sweep for La Liga as well.
Benzema is the ninth member of Real Madrid to ever receive the honor.
He follows in the footsteps of current teammate Luka Modric as well as Cristiano Ronaldo, Fabio Cannavaro, Ronaldo, Luis Figo, and Alfredi Di Stefano.
Who Won The Ballon d’Or 2022?
Karim Benzema received his first Ballon d’Or award in his professional career in 2022. He also broke Luka Modric’s record for winning the trophy at age 33 by being the oldest player (34 years old) to win it.
Real Madrid won the double last season thanks to Karim Benzema’s record 44 goals and 14 assists. He is the first French winner since Zinedine Zidane in 1998, making him the fifth Frenchman to receive the honor.
KARIM BENZEMA IS THE 2022 BALLON D’OR!@Benzema@realmadrid#ballondor pic.twitter.com/fDHTdtHtai
— Ballon d'Or #ballondor (@francefootball) October 17, 2022
When did the Ballon d’Or 2022 took place?
The Ballon d’Or 2022 ceremony was held on October 17, 2022 in Paris, France. It was the 66th edition. It was crowded with numerous football greats who were delighted for Benzema, the award winner.
2022 Ballon d’Or nominees
- Thibaut Courtois – Real Madrid
- Rafael Leao – AC Milan
- Christopher Nkunku – RB Leipzig
- Mohamed Salah – Liverpool
- Joshua Kimmich – Bayern Munich
- Trent Alexander-Arnold – Liverpool
- Vinicius Junior – Real Madrid
- Bernardo Silva – Manchester City
- Luis Diaz – Porto/Liverpool
- Robert Lewandowski – Bayern Munich/Barcelona
- Riyad Mahrez – Manchester City
- Casemiro – Real Madrid/Manchester United
- Son Heung-min – Tottenham Hotspur
- Fabinho – Liverpool
- Karim Benzema – Real Madrid
- Mike Maignan – AC Milan
- Harry Kane – Tottenham Hotspur
- Darwin Nunez – Benfica/Liverpool
- Phil Foden – Manchester City
- Sadio Mane – Liverpool/Bayern Munich
- Sebastien Haller – Ajax/Borussia Dortmund
- Luka Modric – Real Madrid
- Antonio Rudiger – Chelsea/Real Madrid
- Cristiano Ronaldo – Manchester United
- Kevin De Bruyne – Manchester City
- Dusan Vlahovic – Fiorentina/Juventus
- Virgil van Dijk – Liverpool
- Joao Cancelo – Manchester City
- Kylian Mbappe – Paris Saint-Germain
- Erling Haaland – Borussia Dortmund/Manchester City
Ballon d’Or 2022 Final rankings
- karim Benzema
- Sadio Mane
- Kevin De Bryune
- Robert Lewandowski
- Mohamed Salah
- Kylian Mbappe
- Thibaut Courtois
- Vinicus Junior
- Luka Modric
- Erling Haaland.
- Heung Min Son
- Riyad Mahrez
- Sebastien Haller
- Rafael Leao
- Fabinho
- Virgil Van Dijk
- Dusan Vlahovic
- Luis Diaz
- Casemiro
- Cristiano Ronaldo
- Harry Kane
- Phil Foden
- Bernando Silva
- Trent Alexander Arnold
- Christopher Nkunku
- Joshua Kimmich
The Three Finalists for the 2022 Ballon d’Or Award are:
- Karim Benzema
Karim Benzema received the most votes to become the 2022 Ballon d’Or winner. Benzema was celebrated by his friends, including the president of France, Emmanuel Macron. The French striker will present the award to the Real Madrid fans when Real Madrid plays Elche on October 19, 2022, away from home.
2. Sadio Mane
Africa’s footballer of the year was close to winning the Ballon d’Or award but it was made impossible by the football journalists who rated Benzema ahead of him. The Senegalese was second on the nomination list after he won the African Cup of Nations with Senegal and won both the FA Cup and Carling Cup with Liverpool.
The winger also helped Senegal qualify for the World Cup against Egypt. He did not win the Ballon d’Or, but he received a Socrates award for his contributions to Senegal.
3. Kevin De Bryune:
Manchester City’s greatest creative midfielder, Kevin De Bryune surpassed David Silva’s record by providing a total of 95 assists so far at City. He deserves to be on the list, and if he keeps up with his performance, De Bryune is likely to get his hands on the prestigious award one day.
