Karim Benzema is the winner of this year’s Ballon d’Or. The French footballer of Real Madrid was the best footballer of the old Epirus last season.
The seasoned striker was a big star in Carlo Ancelotti’s team on their way to Champions League and league title. The 34-year-old scored 15 goals in 12 games in the top division last season and 27 in the league.
KARIM BENZEMA IS THE BALL GOLD OF 2022! ✨@Benzema@RealMadrid#ballondor pic.twitter.com/TXLkHJIhJM
— Golden ball #ballondor (@francefootball) October 17, 2022
Benzema is the fourth French footballer to receive this award and the first since Zinedine Zidane in 1998. Raymond Kopa was the first in 1958 and Michel Platini won three in a row (1983, 1984, 1985).
Aleksija Putejas received the corresponding award among women. The Spanish captain of Barcelona wins the Ballon d’Or for the second year in a row. She even became the first female soccer player in history to achieve such a feat.
BACK WINNERS!
ALEXIA PUTELLAS – WOMEN’S GOLD BALL 2022! @alexiaputellas@FCBfemeni#ballondor pic.twitter.com/dt483n5ioi
— Golden ball #ballondor (@francefootball) October 17, 2022
Sadio Mane was awarded the Socrates Prize for his social contribution to his special homeland, Senegal.
Sadio Mane, the very first winner of the Socrates Prize! #PrixSocrates With @peaceandsport#ballondor pic.twitter.com/VU3eAYiZ0L
— Golden ball #ballondor (@francefootball) October 17, 2022
Barcelona’s Gavi won the Coppa award for best young player. Robert Lewandowski received the Gerd Miller award for last season’s top scorer.
GAVI IS THE WINNER OF KOPA TROPHY 2022! @Football Club Barcelona#trofeekopa #ballondor pic.twitter.com/qok7kIbxtP
— Golden ball #ballondor (@francefootball) October 17, 2022
Thibaut Courtois was the best goalkeeper last season. The Belgian was named MVP in the Champions League final against Liverpool.
THIBO COURTOIS IS THE WINNER OF YACHINE TROPHY 2022!@RealMadrid#TropheeYachine #ballondor pic.twitter.com/llvIhMm1iz
— Golden ball #ballondor (@francefootball) October 17, 2022
Manchester City received the Club of the Season award. The English team reached the semi-finals of the Champions League and won the domestic championship. The list of candidates for this year’s Ballon d’Or also included five players and one football player.
Manchester City – Club of the Year!
Congratulations 💙#clubdelannee #ballondor pic.twitter.com/BtftAv5XWL
— Golden ball #ballondor (@francefootball) October 17, 2022
It is worth noting that Cristiano Ronaldo was in the 20thin place to award the best football player. Lionel Messi was not among the 30 players announced a few weeks ago.
Placed 20th in the 2022 Ballon d’Or! @cristiano@MJ#ballondor pic.twitter.com/omidUm8DQO
— Golden ball #ballondor (@francefootball) October 17, 2022
This year, the awards were given for the last season, and not for the calendar year, as was the case before last year. This also caused the awards to take place in October instead of December.
Source: Kathimerini
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