How Ronaldo stopped Benzema becoming a multiple Ballon d'Or winner
Karan Tejwani
- 14 Oct 2022 12:00 BST
- 4 min read
Karim Benzema is set to win the Ballon d’Or for the first time on Monday evening, crowning an exceptional year as he had an influential role in Real Madrid’s La Liga and Champions League successes.
The French forward was the top scorer in both competitions and had important roles in knockout round ties against the likes of Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Manchester City earlier in the year.
He is now the clear favourite, with the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappe and others well behind him in the race and it would be a deserved honour.
He has shown his best form for Real Madrid over the last few years, and that has especially stood out since Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure from the club to Juventus in 2018.
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Benzema has shone without Ronaldo
In the four full seasons since Ronaldo’s Real Madrid departure, Benzema has scored 131 goals across all competitions, 44 of which came last season.
Prior to that, his role with Ronaldo in the team was far more conserved, as he served more in the build-up rather than get involved in the goalscoring himself.
He was used more to create spaces and link up with his fellow attacking talent, as it ranged from Ronaldo to Gareth Bale to Marco Asensio and others over the years during his tenure at the club.
He’s been given more freedom and the license to get involved in goalscoring since then, and that has reflected in his rise in numbers for goals and assists.
So good has been his form that he even earned a return to the France national team ahead of Euro 2020 after a six-year absence from Didier Deschamps’ team.
And beyond that, he’s still been a team player, able to drop back and contribute to the overall build-up for the betterment of his team – something he was always great at, even during Ronaldo’s tenure at the club.
The return of Carlo Ancelotti has head coach made him even better, and Benzema’s confidence has only grown, as he was given a top leadership role in addition to his striking responsibilities.
Yep, of course. ❄️
Of course Benzema delivered a panenka in a Champions League semi-final 😵
This game really has it all! It's now 4-3! #UCL pic.twitter.com/TMkdfmveuC— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) April 26, 2022
When Benzema won the UEFA Best Men’s Player in Europe award back in August, Ancelotti was full of praise for the Frenchman and said the sport was lucky to have him.
"Karim is not just a fantastic striker and top scorer, he's a fantastic footballer, supported by great attitude day by day,” the Italian coach said.
“Compared to last year, this year he improved his knowledge, he knows the game really well, how to manage the game and he's a strong leader in the dressing room and a good friend of mine.
“We are lucky to have Karim. We have to say football is lucky to see Karim play," Ancelotti concluded, praising the impact Benzema had on his team.
After years of contributing heavily to his team, Benzema now gets to be in the spotlight himself and he has taken full advantage: the Ballon d’Or win this year is fully deserved and he’ll be gunning for more.
