Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema won the men's Ballon d'Or on Monday, becoming the first Frenchman to claim the most prestigious individual prize in football since Zinédine Zidane almost a quarter of a century ago. In the women's Ballon d'Or contest, Alexia Putellas of Spain saw off stiff competition to win the award for the second year running.
Benzema, 34, was the overwhelming favourite after his remarkable performances last season helped his club win the Champions League and La Liga. He scored an astonishing 44 goals in 46 games for his club including 15 in the Champions League.
His exploits included a hat trick in 17 minutes against Paris Saint-Germain in the last 16, and another away to Chelsea in the quarter-final first leg. He also scored three more goals over both legs of the semi-final against Manchester City.
Benzema, who also won the UEFA Nations League with France last season, pushed Bayern Munich and Senegal star Sadio Mané into second place, with Kevin De Bruyne of Manchester City and Belgium coming third.
Monday’s award means Benzema is now only the fifth French player to win the coveted Ballon d'Or, following in the footsteps of Raymond Kopa (1958), Michel Platini (1983, 1984 and 1985), Jean-Pierre Papin (1991) and Zidane (1998).
The Real Madrid star was also named the UEFA player of the year in August. He is living a marvellous twilight to his career with the 2022 World Cup, in which France go in as the defending champions, yet to come.
Benzema's redemption
The Ballon d'Or caps a remarkable turnaround for a player who had become a pariah in his home country, frozen out of the France team for five and a half years because of his involvement in a blackmail scandal over a sex tape involving his teammate Mathieu Valbuena.
Having put that scandal behind him, Benzema is playing the best football of his career with his 35th birthday approaching the day after the World Cup final.
"This prize in front of me makes me really proud. When I was small, it was a childhood dream, I never gave up ... Anything is possible," Benzema said on stage at the ceremony.
"There was a difficult period when I wasn't in the French team but I never gave up. I'm really proud of my journey here. It wasn't easy, it was a difficult time for my family as well."
His victory had long looked inevitable, with one of his main rivals, Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski, saying this week: "If they don't cancel it then he's probably going to win this Ballon d'Or.” It was a joke by the Polish striker, who would surely have been crowned in 2020 had that year's Ballon d’Or not been cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Frenchman is the second-oldest Ballon d’Or winner after Stanley Matthews, who was 41 when he picked up the very first Ballon d’Or award in 1956. He succeeds Lionel Messi, who did not even rank among the nominees this year after a disappointing season at PSG.
Benzema aside, three other members of Real's Champions League-winning side made it into the top 10: Vinicius, the evergreen Luka Modric and goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. Vinicius scored the only goal in Real’s final defeat of Liverpool, while Courtois was named 'Man of the Match'.
Putellas makes it two in a row
In the women’s Ballon d’Or contest, Alexia Putellas of Spain became the first player to win back-to-back awards, edging out a field of 20 contenders that included three members of England's European Championship-winning squad.
Putellas, who followed in the footsteps of Ada Hegerberg and Megan Rapinoe by winning a year ago, captained Barcelona to the Champions League final last season as well as a domestic league and cup double. She was the Champions League top scorer with 11 goals, although her club lost the final to Lyon.
The 28-year-old is currently recovering from a serious knee injury that saw her miss the Euro this summer with Spain.
"The knee is doing well. I just need to focus on recovering and if everything goes as I hope – and as the doctors and my club hope – I hope to be back playing this season," Putellas said.
La Roja, missing Putellas' creativity, were eliminated in extra-time by England at the Euro and are now setting their sights on the World Cup in July 2022, although her participation is in doubt – and not just due to injury.
The Barcelona captain showed her leadership by publishing a statement calling for change, along with 15 national team players who asked not to be called up by Spain, amid differences with coach Jorge Vilda and the Spanish football federation.
Although injured and unavailable for selection, Putellas posted the message on Twitter in solidarity with her teammates, who were not part of the team's recent matches.
The stance marks her out, along with the two prior winners of the award, Norway's Hegerberg and the United States' Rapinoe, as strong personalities within the game, willing to take a stand off the pitch as well as excelling on it.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP and Reuters)
