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 leading candidate 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 10 previous 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.
