Karim Benzema got his hands on the prestigious Ballon d’Or award on Monday, after he placed first in this year’s rankings.
The 34-year-old had a stellar year, winning both the Champions League and the Spanish La Liga with Real Madrid.
Below are some of the achievements he managed in the season gone by:
◉ 56 games
◉ 50 goals
◉ 16 assists
🏆 LaLiga
🏆 Supercopa
🏆 Nations League
🏆 Champions League
🏅 UEFA Men’s Player of the Year
🏅 UCL Player of the Season
🏅 UCL Golden Boot
🏅 Pichichi Trophy
Karim Benzema becomes the fifth Frenchman after Raymond Kopa, Michel Platini, Jean-Pierre Papin, and Zinedine Zidane to win the Ballon d’Or Trophy.
Karim Benzema said after receiving the award, “This is a childhood dream. My journey was not easy. It was difficult for me and my family. To be here today for the first time, I am happy with my work. I will keep going.”
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Sadio Mane came in second, while Kevin De Bruyne came in 3rd, Robert Lewandowski came in 4th place, Mohamed Salah in 5th and Kylian Mbappe in 6th.
Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo came a distant 20th in the ranking. Lionel Messi was completely missing in the rankings. This is the first time since 2005 that neither of them have ranked in the top 3.
And this is the second time sine 2008 that someone not named Messi or Ronaldo have won it, Benzema and Modric.
