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Real Madrid's Karim Benzema has won the Ballon d'Or for the first time in his career, a well-deserved win thanks to his exploits in the 2021-22 season.
This year marked the 66th edition of the award ceremony, organized by France Football annually. The event, which took place at the regal Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris saw some of the biggest football stars grace the venue with their presence.
Just like every year, there was a lot of excitement among fans and pundits alike to find out who would be voted the winner of the main award, a namesake of the ceremony. Benzema received the trophy from his former manager and former winner of the honor Zinedine Zidane.
At 34 years of age, Benzema became the oldest player to win the award since 1956. Sir Stanley Matthews won the trophy at the age of 41 while playing for Blackpool.
Current holder and seven-time winner Lionel Messi was left out of the initial 30-man shortlist while his long-time rival and five-time winner Cristiano Ronaldo came in at 20th place in the rankings.
Alongside the Men's award, this year six other trophies were handed out. They are as follows -
- Kopa Trophy for best young player.
- Yashin Trophy for best goalkeeper.
- Ballon d'Or Féminin for the best Women's player.
- Socrates Award for the best social initiative by committed champions.
- Muller Trophy for the best striker of the year who has scored the most goals for his club and country in one season.
- Club of the Year for the best club during the 2021-22 season.
Barcelona's Gavi won the Kopa Trophy while Barcelona Femení star Alexia Putellas retained her Ballon d'Or Femenin trophy. Real Madrid shot-stopper Thibaut Courtois took home the Yashin Trophy while Manchester City were adjudged as the Club of the Year.
The Socrates Award and the Muller Trophy were added to the ceremony for the first time this year. Bayern Munich winger Sadio Mane became the first winner of the Socrates Award, in recognition of his charity work in his native Senegal.
Former Bayern Munich star Robert Lewandowski won the inaugural Muller Trophy, named after legendary striker Gerd Muller. He scored 50 goals across all competitions, including 35 in the Bundesliga to finish as the top-scoring player in Europe last season.
Real Madrid and Barcelona dominate the Ballon d'Or 2022 ceremony sharing five awards
Real Madrid had an amazing run in the 2021-22 season, winning La Liga and also lifting the UEFA Champions League for a record-extending 14th time in history. They took home two big awards at the ceremony. Benzema won the main award while their goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois won the coveted Yashin Trophy, becoming the first Real Madrid goalkeeper to do so.
Barcelona swept up three awards - the Kopa Award (Gavi), the Ballon d'Or Feminin (Putellas), and the Muller Award (Lewandowski). Real Madrid could've won three awards as well but narrowly missed out on the Club of the Year award, with Manchester City taking that honor.
2022 Ballon d'Or at a glance
Ballon d'Or: Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)
Muller Trophy: Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich / Barcelona)
Yashin Trophy: Courtois (Real Madrid)
Kopa Trophy - Gavi (FC Barcelona)
Socrates Award - Sadio Mane (Bayern Munich)
Ballon d'Or Feminin - Alexia Putellas (FC Barcelona)
Club of the Year - Manchester City
