Karim Benzema wins Ballon d'Or 2022 award
The biggest names in world football gathered for the prestigious Ballon d'Or 2022 ceremony in Paris. Karim Benzema has won the Ballon d'Or 2022 - his maiden crown. Benzema edged past finalists Sadio Mane, Kevin De Bruyne, and Robert Lewandowski. Meanwhile, Barcelona women's 28-year-old mid-fielder Alexia Putellas bagged the Women's Ballon d'Or. It was her second successive Ballon d'Or award. Here's more.
Benzema wins!
A host of trophies for Benzema in 2021-22
Benzema won his fifth UEFA Champions League title with Real Madrid after they beat Liverpool in the final. Benzema's exploits helped him win the UEFA Champions League Player of the Season award. He also won La Liga with Los Blancos, besides the Spanish Super Cup. With France, Benzema won the UEFA Nations League title as well.
50 goals for club and country
Benzema went on to score a staggering 15 goals in the UCL 2021-22 campaign and registered one assist. He scored hat-tricks against PSG and Chelsea in the knockout stages. Benzema topped the scoring in La Liga with 27 goals. He also clocked 12 assists. He scored two goals and made one assist in the Spanish Super Cup. He also scored six goals for France.
Earlier, Benzema won UEFA Men's Player of the Year award
Benzema had earlier bagged the UEFA Men's Player of the Year award back in August. Benzema fended off his Real Madrid team-mate Thiabut Courtois and Manchester City ace Kevin De Bruyne for the prestigious award.
What about Ronaldo and Messi?
5-time Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo finished 20th after an indifferent season with Manchester United. He was United's top scorer with 24 goals, including six in the UCL. However, United had a dismal season and failed to win a trophy. Meanwhile, six-time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi didn't make the cut. Messi was left off the 30-man list for the first time since 2005.
Ballon d'Or rankings between 1-10 (men's)
1) Karim Benzema, 2) Sadio Mane, 3) Kevin De Bruyne, 4), Robert Lewandowski, 5) Mohamed Salah, 6) Kylian Mbappe, 7) Thibaut Courtois, 8) Vinicius Junior, 9) Luka Modric, 10) Erling Haaland.
Gavi wins the Kopa Trophy
France Football has also presented the Kopa Trophy to the best performing player under 21 years of age. Barcelona and Spain mid-fielder Gavi has won the Kopa Trophy for the best player under 21. Gavi played 51 times in the 2021-22 season for Barcelona and Spain. He made 47 appearances for Barca, scoring 2 goals and making five assists.
Kopa Trophy winner
Lewandowski wins Striker of the Year award
Robert Lewandowski bagged his second successive Striker of the Year award. He smashed 50 goals last season, helping his side win the Bundesliga. He scored 35 league goals and made 3 assists. In the Champions League, Lewy bagged 13 goals and 3 assists. For Poland, the veteran ace smashed nine goals and four assists in all competitions.
Lewandowski wins again!
Thibaut Courtois wins the Yashin Trophy
Real Madrid goal-keeper Thibaut Courtois won the 2022 Yashin Trophy. He played a key role in helping Real claim the 2021-22 UCL honor, bagging the Man of the Match award in the final. He also won the Spanish Super Cup and La Liga.
Thibaut Courtois wins big
Barcelona's Putellas wins Women's Ballon d'Or
Putellas is the third ever Women's Ballon d'Or winner and claimed the honor for the second successive year. Barca women lost in the Champions League final but Putellas was the competition's top scorer (11 goals). In the Spanish league, she managed 18 goals and 15 assists from 26 games. She ended the season as the highest-scoring mid-fielder in Europe with 26 goals across competitions.
Successive wins!
Women's Ballon d'Or: Top 10 players
1) Alexia Putellas (Barcelona, Spain) 2) Beth Mead (Arsenal, England) 3) Sam Kerr (Chelsea, Australia) 4) Lena Oberdorf (Wolfsburg, Germany) 5) Aitana Bonmati (Barcelona, Spain) 6) Alexandra Popp (Wolfsburg, Germany) 7) Ada Hegerberg (Lyon, Norway) 8) Wendie Renard (Lyon, France) 9) Catarina Macario (Lyon, USA) 10) Lucy Bronze (Barcelona, England)
