{"id":12078,"date":"2022-10-19T10:56:34","date_gmt":"2022-10-19T09:56:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thedailyleaks.com\/?p=12078"},"modified":"2022-10-21T10:58:50","modified_gmt":"2022-10-21T09:58:50","slug":"benzema-and-putellas-win-ballon-dor-2022-who-picked-the-winners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thedailyleaks.com\/benzema-and-putellas-win-ballon-dor-2022-who-picked-the-winners\/","title":{"rendered":"Benzema and Putellas win Ballon d\u2019Or 2022: Who picked the winners?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Real Madrid’s France forward Karim Benzema won the 2022 Ballon d’Or award for the best men’s player in the world on Monday, while Barcelona’s Spain midfielder Alexia Putellas won the women’s award for a second time.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<\/div>\n
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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.<\/p>\n

“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.<\/p>\n

“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.”<\/p>\n

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<\/a> said.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

On Monday evening that the winners emerged, we watched on as the world of global football showed its more glitzy side.\u00a0<\/a>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<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Ballon d\u2019Or: Who picked the winners?<\/h3>\n

Whether you put\u00a0much weight in the individual award<\/a>\u00a0chosen or not — for the record, I don\u2019t —\u00a0there is certainly a prestige involved for those that get to vote in the Ballon d\u2019Or prizes.\u00a0<\/b>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.\u00a0Just ask the Mexicans<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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KARIM BENZEMA IS THE 2022 BALLON D\u2019OR! \u2728@Benzema<\/a>@realmadrid<\/a>#ballondor<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/TXLkHJIhJM<\/a><\/p>\n

— Ballon d'Or (@ballondor) October 17, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n