Ballon d'Or 2022: Spanish media 'leak' winner as Karim Benzema with Yashin and Kopa award recipients revealed
/dnl.eurosport.com/sd/img/placeholder/eurosport_logo_1x1.png){kind=logo}
Updated 17/10/2022 at 12:36 GMT
The Real Madrid striker will win tonight's Ballon d'Or, according to Spanish publication Marca. Benzema has yet to receive his first Golden Ball trophy, but is expected to claim the prize for the first time and beat the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah for the award. The 34-year-old is the huge favourite to win arguably football's most prestigious individual honour.
'Benzema's Ballon d'Or would be a bit ours too' - Ancelotti after Real win over Barca
This year's Ballon d'Or winner has reportedly been leaked by the Spanish media, with Marca claiming that Karim Benzema will receive his first Golden Ball.
It is claimed that Benzema will become only the second player aside from Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to win the award since 2008, after team-mate Luka Modric scooped the prize in 2018.
The Ballon d’Or is awarded for performances in the previous season rather than the calendar year, and Benzema was in scintillating form during the 2021/22 campaign.
He scored 44 goals in 46 appearances across all competitions, as Carlo Ancelotti’s side won a La Liga and Champions League double.
His performances in the Champions League drew huge acclaim, following hat-tricks in the last-16 second leg against Paris Saint-Germain and quarter-final first leg against Chelsea.
The Frenchman followed that up with another goal in the decisive second leg against the Blues, before three more strikes across the semi-final first and second legs against Manchester City.
/origin-imgresizer.eurosport.com/2022/10/17/3474466-70836493-2560-1440.jpg)
Benzema clear favourite to win men's Ballon D'or 2022
This is reflected in the current betting odds, with Benzema the huge 1/33 favourite ahead of Manchester City's Erling Haaland, who is priced at 12/1.
Other hotly-tipped nominees for the award include Sadio Mane (33/1), Robert Lewandowski (33/1), Mohamed Salah (25/1) and Kevin De Bruyne (33/1).
Meanwhile, Benzema’s Real Madrid team-mate Thibaut Courtois is expected to pick up the Yashin Award for the best performing goalkeeper.
The 30-year-old made 52 appearances across all competitions for Los Blancos last season, conceded 46 goals and kept 22 clean sheets.
It would be the first award of its kind for Courtois, with Liverpool’s Alisson and Gianluigi Donnarumma of Paris Saint-Germain winners in 2019 and 2021 respectively.
/origin-imgresizer.eurosport.com/2022/08/10/3430671-69998588-2560-1440.jpg)
Thibaut Courtois
Image credit: Getty Images
Courtois has not featured for Real in recent weeks due to a sciatica problem, with Andriy Lunin deputising during his absence.
The Kopa award is another prestigious honour on the night, which is given to the best-performing player under the age of 21.
Kylian Mbappe, Matthijs de Ligt and Pedri are previous winners, but it is the latter's Barcelona team-mate Gavi that is expected win the prize this year.
Gavi was a mainstay for Barcelona in 2021/22, making a total of 48 appearances across all competitions.
The midfielder only turned 18 in August, but has already earned 12 caps for Spain and is tipped to have a hugely-successful career.
He has been predicted to fight off competition from the likes of Jude Bellingham, Nuno Mendes, Bukayo Saka and Karim Adeyemi for the award.
Scan me
Related Topics
Share this article
Advertisement
Advertisement