Benzema, who played a pivotal role in Real’s run to the Champions League title last season, is the first French player to win the trophy since Zinedine Zidane in 1998 and the fifth after Raymond Kopa, Michel Platini and Jean-Pierre Papin.
“This prize in front of me makes me really proud. When I was small, it was a childhood dream, I never gave up… Anything is possible,” Benzema said on stage at the ceremony.
“There was a difficult period when I wasn’t in the French team but I never gave up. I’m really proud of my journey here. It wasn’t easy, it was a difficult time for my family as well.”
Benzema beat Poland’s Robert Lewandowski, Sadio Mane of Senegal and Belgium’s Kevin De Bruyne after Argentina’s Lionel Messi won the award for a record seventh time last year, Reuters said.
The highlight of their European campaign was the 3-1 win in the second leg against PSG when the Spanish club were 2-0 down on aggregate, with Benzema grabbing a 17-minute hat-trick in the second half to stun the Ligue 1 side.
On Monday evening that the winners emerged, we watched on as the world of global football showed its more glitzy side. The sight of sweaty athletes showing their prowess on a muddy field was swapped for a red carpet filled with those same individuals wearing expensive suits, glamorous dresses and big smiles. And the supporting cast of families, friends, club officials and sporting executives took their own places as we gathered for the crowning of the best players in the world. 
Benzema and Putellas displaying their awards. Photo: MURAD SEZER/REUTERS
Ballon d’Or: Who picked the winners?
Whether you put much weight in the individual award chosen or not — for the record, I don’t — there is certainly a prestige involved for those that get to vote in the Ballon d’Or prizes. We have seen in years gone by that much attention is put on who votes for whom, and often patterns can be seen where certain biases may be in play, sometimes some very left-field choices suggesting that only a limited amount of football has actually been watched. Just ask the Mexicans.
KARIM BENZEMA IS THE 2022 BALLON D’OR! ✨@Benzema@realmadrid#ballondor pic.twitter.com/TXLkHJIhJM
— Ballon d'Or #ballondor (@francefootball) October 17, 2022
Fans will always have their own favourites and will find ways to doubt the integrity or intelligence of those voting a different way, especially if choosing a rival player.
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This year there were a number of changes to the process, most notably, the jury of journalists was instructed to take into account players’ performances in the 2021/22 season, rather than the 2022 calendar year. What’s more, the number of jurors was significantly reduced, and the criteria they were to consider no longer includes a candidate’s achievements throughout their entire career.
So, to the 2022 Ballon d’Or voting. Who were behind the crowning glories of Karim Benzema, Alexia Putellas, Gavi, Thibaut Courtois, and Manchester City, and all those that came in behind them?
Dont miss your shot !
Benzema, Putellas, Courtois and Gavi on the cover of France Football magazine 😍😍
Available this Saturday #ballondor pic.twitter.com/wolahKL9PV— Ballon d'Or #ballondor (@francefootball) October 18, 2022
Well, the truth is that we don’t yet know. Here at AS, as you’ll no doubt be aware, we have been across everything to do with the awards for many a year, and normally bring you the voting records within hours of the event.
