STATS Perform/dpa
Paris
Karim Benzema has been rewarded for his career-best 2021-22 season with his first Ballon d’Or in a ceremony at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris.
Real Madrid captain Benzema was a strong favourite for the top award on Monday after inspiring the Spanish giants to a LaLiga and Champions League double last term.
Ahead of a November-December World Cup, a change in the format saw the Ballon d’Or awarded based on performances over a regular season rather than the calendar year for the first time.
France international Benzema would have been a leadingcandidate in either case, but he was the clear winner after scoring 44 goals in 46 matches and earning a fifth European crown in the 2021-22 campaign.
Although his haul was topped by Robert Lewandowski (50) - then of Bayern Munich and now of Barcelona - 10 of Benzema’s goals came in the Champions League knockout stages, tying a Cristiano Ronaldo single-season record.
Vinicius Junior netted the decisive strike in the final versus Liverpool, but Benzema had already established himself as the world’s best with hat-tricks against both Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea.
Adding 15 assists, Benzema’s total of 59 goal involvements last season fell just shy of Kylian Mbappe’s Europe-wide high of 60 (39 goals, 21 assists).
Benzema had been nominated for the Ballon d’Or on 10previous occasions but only cracked the top 10 for the first time in 2021, finishing fourth as Lionel Messi - not nominated this year - claimed a seventh award.
Putellas wins back-to-back Ballons d’Or Feminin
Barcelona and Spain midfielder AlexiaPutellas took home a second straight Ballon d’Or Feminin award on Monday to become the first two-time winner.
Putellas was recognised in 2021 after winning the Champions League with Barca, before returning to the final this year.
The Blaugrana this time came up short, losing to Lyon, but Putellas finished as the competition’s top scorer and Player of the Season.
She was then denied the opportunity to feature at the Women’s Euro 2022 after tearing her anterior cruciate ligament on the eve of the finals.
Despite missing the tournament, while three of her four fellow Ballon d’Or finalists featured, Putellas was named the world’s best player by France Football again in Paris.
Beth Mead, who inspired England’s Euros triumph, finished second, but Putellas was a popular winner and gave an emotional speech as she reflected on a tough period in her career.
“Thanks to France Football and the members of the jury,” she said.
“On April 5, I broke my knee and I believed that this [winning the Ballon d’Or] would not be possible, because I believed that the most recent European Championship would be remembered.
“My most sincere congratulations to the English FA for the organisation they had for the European Championship and how they are having that impact on women’s football in that country. They are an example of how they are doing it.
“I hope that the next time I have to speak, it will be on the pitch again, and I hope that we will see each other again there.”
