Ballon D’Or: It would be a scandal if Karim Benzema doesn’t win the Ballon D’Or – former Man Utd player claims.
Following his outstanding season at Real Madrid, former Manchester United and Fulham midfielder Louis Saha is endorsing Karim Benzema to win the 2022 Ballon d’Or.
Instead of a calendar year, the results of a season will be used to choose the winner of the Ballon d’Or. The coveted award’s nominations will be revealed on August 12; the ceremony will be held on October 17.
If Karim Benzema doesn’t win the Ballon d’Or in 2022 after helping Real Madrid win the La Liga and Champions League, according to Louis Saha, “it would be a scandal.”
Last season, Benzema averaged a goal or assist every 89 minutes and scored 15 goals in 12 Champions League games, including hat-tricks against Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain.
He became Real Madrid’s joint-second top goalscorer with 27 goals from 32 La Liga appearances, trailing only Cristiano Ronaldo (405 goals to Benzema and Raul’s 323).
When the journalist from Bet365 asked Saha about his opinions on the Ballon d’Or, Saha interrupted and said, “Karim Benzema! I apologize, Karim Benzema! Without a doubt! Without a doubt, end there.
It’s Karim Benzema. There are no other players to note. No argument. I don’t believe I would ever, ever look at it again if he doesn’t win it. I’m done now. There would be outrage.
Benzema is one of Real Madrid’s greatest attackers of all time, but he has never even been in the top three of the Ballon d’Or.
Should he triumph, he will join Raymond Kopa, Michel Platini, and Zinedine Zidane as the fourth French player to achieve this feat. It’s interesting to note that three of the four were Real Madrid players.
Four former Ballon d’Or winners have been signed by Real Madrid club president Florentino Perez.
Luis Figo, Fabio Cannavaro, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Karim Benzema would make it five, but Perez already has his sights set on a sixth.
Perez believes Benzema is “the best center forward in the world” and is “confident” he will win the 2022 Ballon d’Or.
He is so confident in Benzema’s ability to score goals that he told Real Madrid earlier this summer not to pursue Erling Haaland, who has now joined Manchester City.
Perez declared, “Haaland cannot be consistent with this situation.”
“We weren’t going to sign him just to bench him. There will be a Benzema replacement at some point. However, it won’t include sitting on a bench.
If Benzema wins the Ballon d’Or, he will join Raymond Kopa, Michel Platini, and Zinedine Zidane as the fourth French player to do so.
For the first time in the award’s history, the results of a season rather than a calendar year will determine the winner of the Ballon d’Or.
The nominations will be revealed on August 12 and the event will be held in Paris on October 17.
