October 18, (THEWILL) – Karim Benzema, who had a breakthrough season at Real Madrid in 2022, has won the Ballon d’Or for the first time.
The French forward had a remarkable season that helped Los Blancos win both local and continental titles. In 46 appearances in all competitions, Benzema scored 44 goals and provided 15 assists, contributing to a goal per 66.4 minutes as the team won La Liga and the UEFA Champions League.
He is deserving of winning the Ballon d’Or in 2022 because of his performance, particularly in the Champions League. In that campaign alone, the 34-year-old scored 15 goals, 10 of which came just in the knockout stages.
Benzema’s spectacular hat-trick against PSG, which helped his team pull off an incredible comeback victory, and a couple crucial goals against Manchester City in the semifinal were among the amazing highlights of that UCL campaign.
Benzema joins Zinedine Zidane, Michel Platini, Jean-Pierre Papin, and Raymond Kopa as the sixth French winner overall and the first French player to win the Ballon d’Or since Zidane back in 1998.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
