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Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) attacker Neymar has congratulated Real Madrid talisman Karim Benzema for his Ballon d'Or win. The Frenchman was named the world's best player in a ceremony in Paris on Monday, October 17.
Neymar also commented on his Brazil teammate Vinicius Junior's eighth-place finish in the final Ballon d'Or list, saying 'it's not possible'. He believes the Brazilian youngster deserved to finish in the top three.
Sadio Mane, formerly of Liverpool and currently playing for Bayern Munich, finished second, while Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne was third in the final rankings.
The PSG superstar took to Twitter to express his surprise at Vinicius finishing eighth, while terming Benzema a deserved winner of the Ballon d'Or.
"Benzema deserved it, crack!!!! Now for Vini jr to be at 8 it's not possible ... At least in the top three," wrote the PSG attacker.
Here's Neymar's tweet:
Vinicius was among Real Madrid's best players as they won the La Liga and UEFA Champions League double in the 2021/22 season. The 22-year-old scored 22 and assisted 20 goals across competitions in 52 appearances for Los Blancos last season.
Benzema, on the other hand, scored 44 goals and assisted another 15 in 46 appearances across competitions for Carlo Ancelotti's side last campaign.
PSG superstar Neymar failed to make it to 2022 Ballon d'Or top 30
PSG's Brazilian superstar Neymar failed to make it to the 30-man final shortlist for the 2022 Ballon d'Or award. His teammate in Paris, Lionel Messi, also wasn't part of the same.
He has previously finished third in the Ballon d'Or rankings on two occasions, in 2015 and 2017.
The former Santos forward had an injury-riddled last season as he was restricted to just 28 appearances across competitions for the French giants. He scored 13 goals and provided eight assists in them.
He has, however, started the new season in fine fashion and has been among the best performers in Europe's top five leagues. The Brazil international has scored 12 goals and provided nine assists in just 16 appearances and looks set to overhaul his last season's tally.
Messi, on the other hand, scored 11 and assisted 15 goals last season. This term, however, he seems to have regained his mojo and has raced to eight goals and as many assists in 14 matches.
