Dakar, Senegal – 34-year-old French striker Karim Benzema was on Monday night, October 17 crowned the 2022 men’s Balon d’Or winner.
The Real Madrid striker scooped the prestigious award after managing 44 goals in 46 matches played last season.
Benzema also won the Champions League, a LaLiga title along other Spanish and European Super Cups.
In the ceremony which was held in Paris, the striker emerged top followed by Bayern Munich striker Sadio Mane and Machester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne who came in third.
The award was presented to Benzema by legendary striker, Zinedine Zidane.
Interestingly, Benzema becomes the first French striker to win the Balon d’Or since Zidane way back in 1998.
The Real Madrid striker is also the oldest winner of the top-rated award since Stanley Matthews won the first edition in 1956.
In his acceptance speech, Benzema noted that winning the Balon d’Or was his childhood dream further mentioning Zidane and Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo as his mentors.
“It makes me really proud. All the work I did, I never gave up. It was a childhood dream like all kids have. I had two motivations in my life – Zidane and Ronaldo. I’ve always had this dream in my mind that anything is possible
“There was a difficult period where I wasn’t in the French team, but I never stopped working hard nor gave up. I always kept my head, concentrated on playing football and I’m really proud of my journey here. It wasn’t easy, it was a difficult time. It was hard for my family as well. To be here today, for the first time for me, I’m happy and pleased with my work and I keep going,” Benzema said.
He added; “I want to thank my team-mates, whether it’s Real Madrid or the national team. My coach, thanks to him as well. The Real Madrid president as well
“I have a lot of people to thank. It’s an individual prize, but it’s a collective one because everyone has played a role.”
Elsewhere, De Bruyne was voted the highest ranked player while Liverpool striker Mohamed Salah was voted as the fifth-best player.
Mo Salah came ahead of Kylian Mbappe of Paris Saint-German (PSG) and Vinicious Junior of Real Madrid.
At the same time Premier League top scorer and Manchester City striker Erling Haaland was placed at the 10th position ahead of Tottenham Hotspur striker Heung-Min Son and team-mate Riyadh Mahrez.
Other English Premier League players who made to the 25-man shortlist include Ronaldo, Fabinho, Virgil Van Dijk, Luis Diaz, Casemiro, Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Darwin Nunez and Joao Cancelo.