Paris, October 17 (BNA) Karim Benzema won the Ballon d’Or for the first time today, Monday, after a great season with Real Madrid that won the Champions League and La Liga titles.
The 34-year-old Benzema had his best season in Madrid, being the top scorer in both leagues. He scored 44 goals with Real Madrid, including 15 in the European League, and equaled Raul Gonzalez as the team’s second-best scorer behind Cristiano Ronaldo.
Spanish player Alexia Putillas won the Women’s Cup for the second year in a row after another distinguished season with Barcelona.
Benzema beat Liverpool’s Sadio Mane and Manchester City playmaker Kevin De Bruyne, according to the Associated Press.
Benzema is behind Lionel Messi, who won the award for the seventh time with a record last year, but was not among the candidates this time after his first season with Paris Saint-Germain.
For the first time this year, the Ballon d’Or was based on the achievements of last season. Previously awarded based on performances over calendar years.
Awarded by France Football magazine, the Golden Ball has been awarded to men every year since 1956 when Stanley Matthews won. The Women’s Cup was created in 2018, and both were canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic.
Benzema became the fifth French player to win the title after Raymond Kopa, Michel Platini, Jean-Pierre Papin and Zinedine Zidane, who was crowned in 1998, the year France won the World Cup for the first time.
Benzema was not part of the France squad that won the 2018 World Cup in Russia, but apart from injury, he will participate in the tournament that will be held in Qatar next month.
Leading an attack that also included Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo, Benzema played a crucial role last season in leading Real Madrid to their 14th European title, his fifth since joining from Lyon in 2009.
The Frenchman was the tournament’s top scorer and found the net when it really mattered, scoring 10 of his goals in the knockout stages.
Botelas scored 42 goals and provided 22 assists last season. She became the first player to win the award twice.
With Barcelona, she won the Spanish League and reached the final of the Champions League. She has been out of action since July after injuring her left knee and undergoing surgery on the eve of the European Women’s Championship.
Putillas beat strikers Beth Meade from Arsenal and England and Sam Kerr of Chelsea and Australia for the award at a ceremony held in Paris. A panel of international journalists selected the winners.
In other awards, the Copa Under-21 Player of the Year went to Barcelona’s 18-year-old midfielder Jaffe, while Robert Lewandowski won the Gerd Muller Player of the Year award.
The Lev Yashin award for best goalkeeper went to Thibaut Courtois of Real Madrid.
The Golden Ball organizers added a humanitarian award bearing the name of the late Brazilian midfielder Socrates. The trophy went to Sadio Mane from Liverpool for his charitable work in Senegal including building a hospital and school donations.
insult