The Ballon d’Or is the equivalent of the César at the cinema. This Monday evening, October 17, 2022 will remain engraved in our memories. Why? We now know the name of the 2022 Ballon d’Or. It is the international Karim Benzema 34ans. It’s a tribute to a player whose career has been one of sawtooth. This ceremony was presented by the former Ivorian international Didier Drogba, one of the best players of this decade in front of more than 300 million (!) viewers.
At the reception of the trophy from the hands of the former glory of world football, Zinédine Zidane, Karim Benzema said in a buzzing room: “To see this in front of me is a pride. I never gave up. I’ve had two models in my life: Zizou and Ronaldo R9. I’m happy with my job.” The one that Jose Mourinho had metaphorically compared to a cat becomes the 44th Ballon d’Or for this 66th edition.
Discreet, less talkative and, to the extent erased, the French international has been evolving for more than a decade to attack one of the most prestigious clubs in the world: the Real of Madrid and a large football nation: France, was crowned gold in the evening of Monday 17 October 2022: a distinction that crowns the talent of the former Lyon player. Even the rain did not prevent the lovers of the round ball from attending the arrival of their stars at the Châtelet theatre in Paris. There are few players who have won this trophy past the age of thirty. For twenty-four years France had been waiting for someone to succeed Zinedine Zidane.
We will go there the formulas boats, common places in literature: Africans have not demerits; Riyad Mahrez (Algeria) 12th, Sébastien Haller (Ivory Coast) 13th, Mohamed Salah (Egypt) 4th. Sadio Mané (Senegal), still in the top 5. He barely missed the mark: 2nd. Nice performance for an African since Georges Weah. Until the last minute, we believed it. Alas! Despite everything, he received this Monday the Socrates Prize. An award that rewards players involved in social and charitable projects.
To our favorite Sadio Mané, they preferred KB9, Karim Benzema; the French international of the Real of Madrid. Mané was one of the favourites at the gold ball. When he arrives on the red carpet, he is closely followed by the master of ceremonies, Didier Drogba. Sadio Mané’s first words to the Team channel were: “It’s something for me to be there with all these legends. We’ll see what happens, said Sadio Mané at the Chaîne l’Equipe. I usually saw him on television and there I am. I saw how people screamed. It always gives them more motivation to be proud.”
Now Karim Benzema, the French international, is the 66th Ballon d’Or in the FIFA Ballon d’Or classification! While the 2022 Ballon du Ballon d’Or ceremony is facing unprecedented controversy in the world of sport – about the organization of the World Cup in Qatar – the French international has been chosen by its peers as the best player of the season. It must be said that he was approached to be the winner. Except cataclysm. After, Zinedine Zidane, Ballon d’Or in 1998, Karim Benzema (Real Madrid) succeeds him. They have one thing in common. And not only French nationality. They are of Algerian origin.