"For what he's doing and for what he's done" - Ancelotti names his pick for the Ballon d'Or award

Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has backed French striker Karim Benzema to win the Ballon d'Or award. Benzema has been in fine form for Real Madrid and has shouldered the goalscoring burden for Los Blancos.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have dominated the Ballon d'Or award standings in the last decade with only Luka Modric breaking the duopoly. However, Ancelotti believes that the Frenchman definitely has to be in the discussion:

“For what he’s doing and for what he’s done, he has to be in the list of possible winners

"Saying that, Karim’s got time to win it. I somehow doubt this is his final season - he’s like a fine wine; the older he gets the better he is.”

Ancelotti also spoke about rotating Real Madrid's squad to cope with their busy schedule:

“Players who haven’t been playing will have the chance to play in the next games because they’re fresher.

“You can’t train at intensity because you’re playing a game every three days. We’re doing a lot of video analysis of what we’ve done well and what we need to improve.”

Real Madrid next face Sheriff in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday.

Karim Benzema's brilliant form has put him in contention for the Ballon d'Or award

Real Madrid CF v RCD Mallorca - La Liga Santander

Since Cristiano Ronaldo's departure, Karim Benzema has been the go-to man for Real Madrid. The Frenchman has extremely impressive numbers but he is behind the likes of Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowski and Jorginho in the race for the Ballon d'Or award.

Lionel Messi won the Golden Boot in the 2020/21 La Liga season and inspired Argentina to victory in the Copa America. Robert Lewandowski continued his brilliant goalscoring form and broke Gerd Muller's long-standing record in the Bundesliga.

Jorginho, on the other hand, won both the UEFA Champions League and the Euros in 2021 and is definitely a prime contender for the Ballon d'Or award this year.

With such stiff competition, Karim Benzema, despite his impressive form, could miss out on the 2021 Ballon d'Or award. However, the 33-year-old Frenchman is showing no signs of slowing down with age. If he continues to put in such brilliant performances, he will definitely be in the discussion to win football's most prestigious individual prize.

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