The 66th Ballon d’Or ceremony took place at the Theatre du Chatelet, Paris on Monday night, with Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema and Barcelona Feminin’s Alexia Putellas the big winners.
Benzema took home the men’s Ballon d’Or award following a scintillating 2021/22 season – the award was handed out for the first time ever based on performances over a season rather than over a calendar year – for Real Madrid.
The 34-year-old was the red-hot favourite for the award, and saw off competition from Sadio Mane, Kevin De Bruyne, Robert Lewandowski and Mohamed Salah – the other players who completed the top five.
Benzema’s Real Madrid teammates Thibaut Courtois, Vinicius Junior and Luka Modric made the top ten, as did want-away Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappe, who came sixth, and Erling Haaland, whose sensational start to life at Manchester City may well put him in contention for the 2023 award.
Cristiano Ronaldo, nominated for an 18th season in a row, placed 20th in the 2022 vote, just ahead of England trio Harry Kane, Phil Foden and Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Alexia Putellas scooped the Ballon d’Or Feminin for the second consecutive year, following another outstanding campaign with Barcelona.
She saw off the challenge of Arsenal and England star Beth Mead, who came second, and Chelsea and Australia striker Sam Kerr.
The night’s other winners included young Barcelona starlet Gavi, who won the Kopa Trophy, and Thibaut Courtois, winner of the Yashin Award for Best Goalkeeper. Robert Lewandowski picked up the Muller Trophy, for being the best striker, while Manchester City were named team of the year.
Karim Benzema was named the winner of the 66th Ballon d’Or, following an immense season leading the line for Real Madrid. The Frenchman won the award for the first time, having scored 44 goals in 46 games across all competitions, and assisting 15 times.
Ballon d’Or 2022 – Rankings
1. Karim Benzema – Real Madrid
2. Sadio Mane – Liverpool/Bayern Munich
3. Kevin De Bruyne – Manchester City
4. Robert Lewandowski – Bayern Munich/Barcelona
5. Mohamed Salah – Liverpool
6. Kylian Mbappe – Paris Saint-Germain
7. Thibaut Courtois – Real Madrid
8. Vinicius Junior – Real Madrid
9. Luka Modric – Real Madrid
10. Erling Haaland – Man City/Borussia Dortmund
11. Son Heung-min – Tottenham Hotspur
12. Riyad Mahrez – Manchester City
13. Sebastien Haller – Ajax/Borussia Dortmund
14= Fabinho – Liverpool
14= Rafael Leao – AC Milan
16. Virgil van Dijk – Liverpool
17= Dusan Vlahovic – Fiorentina/Juventus
17= Luis…
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