66th Ballon d’Or winner, Benzema says anything is possible

myDelsu News Staff 2

237 2 minutes read

First time Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema once claimed that if one never stops pursuing their ambitions, then everything is possible.

On Monday, the French striker Benzema of Real Madrid was announced as the winner of the Ballon d’Or award for the finest male player in the world for 2022.

Benzema was the first French player to win the Champions League since Zinedine Zidane in 1998. He was also the fifth French player to win the trophy overall, following in the footsteps of Raymond Kopa, Michel Platini, and Jean-Pierre Papin. Benzema was a pivotal player in Madrid’s run to the title last season.

“Having this award right here in front of me fills me with immense pride. I never gave up on it when I was a kid since it was a dream from my boyhood. Benzema declared to the audience on stage during the ceremony that everything is possible.

At one point, I wasn’t even on the French team, but I kept fighting. I am really pleased with how far I have come.

“It wasn’t simple, and it was a trying period for my loved ones and myself as well.”

Benzema bested Robert Lewandowski of Poland, Sadio Mane of Senegal, and Kevin De Bruyne of Belgium to win the trophy for a record eighth time. Last year, Lionel Messi of Argentina set the record for most wins with seven.

With 44 goals in 46 appearances in all competitions, Benzema was instrumental in Real’s LaLiga and Champions League titles.

His 15 goals for Real Madrid in the Champions League broke a record.

Benzema scored in the second leg of Real Madrid’s comebacks from a 2-0, 3-2, and 3-2 deficit in the last 16, quarterfinals, and semifinals against Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea, and Manchester City, respectively.

The 3-1 second-leg victory over PSG, which came despite the Spanish club being down 2-0 on aggregate, was the pinnacle of their European season. Benzema scored a hat trick in the last 17 minutes of the second half to shock the Ligue 1 side.

Midfielder Putellas of FC Barcelona, a Spanish international, won the women’s Ballon d’Or for a second year in a row, besting European Championship champion Beth Mead of England and Australian World Cup hero Sam Kerr.

Earlier this year, Putellas was crowned FIFA’s Best Women’s Player. She led all scorers in the Champions League with 11 goals and led all players in the Primera Division with 18.

However, the 28-year-old suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury on the eve of the tournament in England and was therefore unable to participate for Spain.

Thibaut Courtois of Real Madrid earned the Lev Yashin award for outstanding goalkeeper after the tall shot stopper made nine saves to help his team to a 1-0 victory over Liverpool in the final match played in Paris.

In contrast to the teams in the Champions League final, Manchester City, led by Pep Guardiola, won their fourth Premier League title in five years, and so took home the award for Best Club.

In the under-21 category, FC Barcelona’s 18-year-old midfielder Gavi received the Kopa Trophy, while Sadio Mane, a striker for Bayern Munich and a Senegalese international, got the first Socrates award for his humanitarian work.

Having scored 50 goals for Bayern in all competitions last season, Lewandowski also took home the Gerd Muller Trophy as the league’s top striker.

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