Benzema won the award for the best player in Europe presented by the European Union (Wifa) last August and is going through the best period of his career nearly a month before the World Cup and is the closest to winning the Golden Ball.
International striker Karim Benzema appears to be an extraordinary candidate for the Ballon d'Or during a ceremony in Paris, becoming the first Frenchman to win the prestigious award since Zinedine Zidane after nearly a quarter of a century.
30 candidates are competing for the most prestigious individual awards in football, but Benzema is out of the fray after his impressive performances last season that helped crown Real Madrid the European and Spanish champions.
The 34-year-old scored 44 goals in 46 games in all competitions last season with the Royal Club, including 15 in the Champions League.
In the continental competition, he presented extraordinary levels in front of the strongest teams of the tournament, scoring a hat-trick against Paris Saint-Germain within 17 minutes in the second half in the second leg of the second leg of the final, and Chelsea in England in the first leg of the quarter-finals.
He also scored three goals in the two semi-final matches against Manchester City, to lead the team to the final, in which it beat Liverpool.
Benzema won the award for the best player in Europe presented by the European Union for the game (Wifa) last August and is going through the best period of his career nearly a month before the World Cup.
Benzema was excluded from the national team for five and a half years due to his involvement in a blackmail scandal related to his former teammate Matteo Valbuena, but he put that behind him and plays the best football of his career as he approaches his thirty-fifth year the day after the World Cup final.
He recently said: “The most important thing for me is to win the team championships. If I do things right on the pitch, then individual awards will follow.”
His victory at the "Chatelet" theater in the French capital on Monday seems a foregone conclusion.
Polish striker Robert Lewandowski joked Thursday: "If they don't cancel (the award), he will probably win this Ballon d'Or."
The current Barcelona striker was the favorite to win the individual award in 2020 when he was defending the colors of Bayern Munich, but the ceremony was canceled for the first time since the award was established in 1956 due to the Corona virus pandemic.
Messi's absence
She returned last year and was crowned by Argentine Lionel Messi for the seventh time, enhancing his record, but he was not a candidate this year after a disappointing first season with Paris Saint-Germain.
He came in the list of candidates, Cristiano Ronaldo, crowned five times, while the Brazilian Neymar, Messi's colleague in Saint-Germain, is absent from the last list.
In addition to Benzema, four Real Madrid players who contributed to the continental title last season are Brazilian Vinicius Junior, veteran Luka Modric, winner of the award in 2018, Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and Brazilian midfielder Casemiro, who moved to Manchester United.
The list also included Norwegian Erling Haaland, who is brilliant with Manchester City this season, Kylian Mbappe, Lewandowski and Belgian Kevin De Bruyne, but Benzema is flying away from them.
If he wins, he will become the fifth Frenchman to achieve this feat after Raymond Koba (1958), Michel Platini (1983, 1984, 1985), Jean-Pierre Papin (1991) and Zidane (1998).
Previously, the award was given based on the player's performance throughout the year. But the system has changed, and it has become what it offers during the season.
- Potias to keep the prize?
Among the women, the competition looks even more intense for the fourth Golden Ball awarded for the first time in 2018.
There are three players from the European Cup-winning England team in the final list of 20 players, including Lucy Bronze and Millie Bright, while Arsenal striker Beth Mead appears to be the luckiest after scoring six goals in the continental tournament.
Also for the Australian Sam Kerr and the Germans Lena Oberdorf and Alexandra Pope, or the Spanish Alexia Botias may retain the prize.
Botías, 28, is recovering from a severe knee injury that prevented her from participating in the Euros with her country and is not expected to play this season.
The midfielder who succeeded Norway's Ada Hegerberg and American Megan Rapinoe to the award last year led Barcelona to the domestic league and cup double as well as last season's Champions League final.
She was the best scorer in the continental competition with 11 goals, but Barcelona lost the final against Lyon, France.
Winners will also receive NFT tokens in addition to the hologram, while awarding magazine France Football has added a new humanitarian award called Socrates, named after the former Brazilian midfielder.
France Football said the award would be given "for the best social initiative of committed champions".
Tags:
SPORTS UPDATE