Putellas retains women’s prize Benzema wins Ballon d’Or

AFP, Paris :
Karim Benzema was rewarded for his remarkable success with Real Madrid by winning the Ballon d’Or at a star-studded ceremony in Paris on Monday, while Spain’s Alexia Putellas retained the women’s prize.
Benzema, who is the first French winner of the most prestigious individual award in football since Zinedine Zidane in 1998, scored 44 goals in 46 games for his club last season as Real won the Champions League and La Liga.
Fifteen of his goals came in the Champions League, including hat-tricks in knockout wins against Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea and three more across both legs of a stunning semi-final defeat of Manchester City.
The 34-year-old, who also won the UEFA Nations League with France, succeeds Lionel Messi with the Argentine not nominated this year after claiming the prize for the seventh time in 2021.
“The Ballon d’Or might be individual but it’s still a collective award. This is the Ballon d’Or of the people,” Benzema declared.
Benzema turns 35 on December 19, the day after the World Cup final, and is the oldest winner of the Ballon d’Or since the very first, Stanley Matthews in 1956.
The former Lyon striker is also the fifth Frenchman to win the prize, with Raymond Kopa, Michel Platini and Jean-Pierre Papin all getting their hands on the trophy before Zidane.
The award was previously based on a player’s performances over the course of the calendar year.
But the format has changed, with the prize now based on a player’s record over the last season.
That may have helped Putellas win the women’s award despite suffering a serious knee injury in July that saw her miss the European Championship with Spain.
Instead, Putellas’s performances with Barcelona were recognised after she top-scored in the Women’s Champions League to help the Catalans reach the final, which they lost to Lyon.
“It makes me even more annoyed to be injured, but I am very happy to be here,” Putellas said.
“To retain the trophy is much harder. When I injured my knee I thought my chances of winning it had gone but in the end the jury based their decision on the whole of last season, of which I only missed one month.”
The 28-year-old edged out Beth Mead, who scored six goals for the England side that won the Euro on home soil.
Sam Kerr of Chelsea and Australia came third.
It is just the fourth time a women’s Ballon d’Or has been awarded, with Norway’s Ada Hegerberg winning the inaugural prize in 2018 and Megan Rapinoe triumphing in 2019.