Date: 17th October 2022
Location: Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris
Presented By: France Football
Hosted By: Sandy Heribert and Didier Drogba
Winner: Karim Benzema
The 2022 Ballon d’Or was the 66th annual ceremony of the award.
All prizes are awarded to the best footballers within a calendar year in each of the five categories as voted for by fellow professionals and industry experts.
The nominees receive points as part of a voting process. The voting panel consists of over 500 voters – made up of national team captains, national team coaches and journalists.
It is the player who accumulates the most points from the panel in their category who is ultimately crowned Ballon d’Or winner.
Top 3 Finishers
1st
Karim Benzema (Forward – Real Madrid and France)
2022’s Ballon d’Or winner was Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema. The Frenchman made 46 appearances for La Liga side Real Madrid during the 2021/22 season and scored 44 goals in all competitions. He won the La Liga title, Champions League, Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup.
For France, Benzema played 6 games during 2021/22, scoring 5 times on the international stage.
2nd
Sadio Mane (Forward – Liverpool and Senegal)
Runner up was Senegalese international Sadio Mane who in the 2021/22 campaign played 51 times for Liverpool and netted a total of 23 goals. He added two trophies to his collection including the FA Cup and League Cup.
Playing for Senegal, he won 22 caps during the 2021/22 season and scored 14 goals on the way to his country’s African Cup Of Nations triumph.
3rd
Kevin De Bruyne (Midfield – Manchester City and Belgium)
In third place was Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne. The Belgian featured on 44 occasions across the 2021/22 season and registered 19 strikes in total. He claimed the Premier League title with Manchester City for a fifth time!
On the international stage, De Bruyne played 15 times for Belgium. He scored a total of seven goals and provided seven assists.
Who Is Karim Benzema?
Karim Benzema is regarded as one of the best strikers of all time, renowned for his goal-scoring ability, technical skills and vision.
He began his playing career at Ligue 1 side Lyon and made a significant impact on European football with his impressive attacking performances.
He moved to Real Madrid in 2009, going onto become their all-time second-highest goalscorer and top assist provider. Benzema won a total of 24 trophies with Real Madrid including four La Liga titles, three Copa del Rey and five UEFA Champions League honours.
Benzema won 94 caps for the French national team and scored 37 goals. He currently plays for Saudi Professional League club Al-Ittihad after leaving Madrid in 2023.
Was Karim Benzema A Worthy Winner?
Karim Benzema was the perfect choice for the Ballon d’Or winner in 2022. Whilst there were other noteworthy contenders in the mix, the Frenchman would remain unrivalled in terms of goal scoring numbers and match winning performances within key moments.
It was perhaps his displays in the Champions League knockout stages for which his epic season will be most fondly remembered. Benzema netted a hat trick against PSG in the round of 16 second leg and achieved the same feat vs Chelsea in the quarter final a few weeks later.
The French international’s persistent work rate and magic touch in front of goal saw Real Madrid claim their 35th title. They won 26 games and amassed 86 points to beat bitter rivals Barcelona.
The 2021/22 season was by far his best display across 14 campaigns in a Madrid shirt and made him a more than worthy winner of football’s most prestigious individual honour.
Other Prizes
Ballon d’Or Féminin (Women’s Football)
Alexia Putellas (Midfield – Barcelona and Spain)
The best player in Women’s football was Alexia Putellas. She played 43 times for Barcelona over the course of the season, scoring 34 goals and helping her team win a quadruple – the Primera Division League title, Copa de la Reina, Supercopa de Espana and Women’s Champions League. This was her second Ballon d’Or award after also winning the accolade in 2021.
Kopa Trophy (Under 21)
Gavi (Midfield – Barcelona and Spain)
Judged to be the best footballer under the age of 21, Gavi made 47 appearances for Barcelona during the 2021/22 campaign – winning Barcelona’s Trofeo Aldo Rovira award and the Golden Boy accolade.
Yashin Trophy (Goalkeeper)
Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid and Belgium)
The best goalkeeper for 2021/22 was Belgian international Thibaut Courtois. Across the campaign he recorded 16 clean sheets in La Liga on his way to Real winning the La Liga title, Supercopa de Espana and Champions League.
Gerd Müller Trophy (Most Goals)
Robert Lewandowski (Forward – Bayern Munich and Poland)
Robert Lewandowski claimed the prize for best striker. He recorded 48 goals for Bayern Munich during the 2021/22 season and 15 strikes for Poland across 2021 and into 2022.
Club Of The Year
Manchester City (England)
Manchester City were crowned the best club side for 2021/22. The Premier League team went on to win their seventh premier league and also finished as runners up in the Champions League.
2022 Ballon d’Or Top 10
No Name Country Pos League Club
1 Karim Benzema France Forward Spain Real Madrid
2 Sadio Mané Senegal Forward England Liverpool
3 Kevin De Bruyne Belgium Midfielder England Manchester City
4 Robert Lewandowski Poland Forward Germany Bayern Munich
5 Mohamed Salah Egypt Forward England Liverpool
6 Kylian Mbappé France Forward France PSG
7 Thibaut Courtois Belgium Goalkeeper Spain Real Madrid
8 Vinícius Júnior Brazil Midfielder Spain Real Madrid
9 Luka Modrić Croatia Midfielder Spain Real Madrid
10 Erling Haaland Norway Forward Germany B Dortmund
Top 5 European League Winners
Premier League
Manchester City
Bundesliga
Bayern Munich
La Liga
Real Madrid
Serie A
AC Milan
Ligue 1
Paris Saint-Germain
Trivia
- Karim Benzema scored 15 goals during Real Madrid’s 2022 Champions League winning campaign – a record only bettered by his former teammate Cristiano Ronaldo – who netted 17 times on Los Blancos’ way to European glory in 2014.
- Sadio Mane’s 67 appearances in all competitions (for both Liverpool and Senegal) during the 2021/22 season was the seventh most games played by any individual player in world football.
- Kevin De Bruyne recorded an impressive 33 club goal contributions during 2021/22 – with 19 goals and 14 assists for Manchester City – on their way to another Premier League title.
